Shoe thrower’s trial resumes today

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The trial of the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at former U.S. president George Bush is due to resume this morning after a three-week hiatus. Muntather al-Zaydi, 30, made a brief appearance in court on February 19 to face a charge of aggression against a foreign head of state. But judges adjourned the case after just 90 minutes, saying they needed time to decide whether the then-president Bush had been on an official state visit or not. In the first session, al-Zaydi, draped in an Iraqi flag, told the court how his anger had boiled over as he watched Bush “smiling that icy smile” as the former president stood next to the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki and spoke of progress in Iraq since 2003 and having dinner together. “I thought about what the achievements were – killing about a million Iraqis,” Zaydi said. “I saw only Bush and it was like something black in my eyes,” he said from the dock. So he took off his shoes and chucked both of them at Bush, who ducked behind a lectern. Al-Zaydi has worked for al-Boghdadiya since its establishment in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. He was kidnapped late last year by unidentified gunmen while stepping out of his home in al-Bab al-Sharqi area, central Baghdad. Four days later he was found lying on the ground near auto selling stores in al-Nahda square, Baghdad, at a late night hour. Zaydi is considered one of the journalists outspokenly criticizing the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq. He had written several reports opposing the U.S. military presence in the country. SH (S)/SR 1