“This is an American court, you sons of dogs,” screamed the brother of Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who was jailed for three years on Thursday for hurling his shoes at former US president George W. Bush.
Family members who had been waiting nervously outside the court for the verdict began to scream and cry, some falling to their knees as word of the decision swept the Central Criminal Court building like wildfire.
“This is an American court. There is not an honorable man among you,” screamed Dunya, one of Zaidi’s sisters, her face contorted with anger as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Zaidi’s family, many of them women wearing conservative long black abaya, marched around crying and ululating, as security guards struggled to maintain control.
Judge Abdulamir Hassan al-Rubaie had opened proceedings with Zaidi hoping to have the charges reduced from the full charge of assaulting a foreign head of state.
But Rubaie said ministers had determined that Bush was on an official visit to Iraq, so Zaidi would therefore face the more serious charge for throwing his shoes at the then serving president on Dec. 14.
Zaidi, whose shoe-hurling gesture is considered a grave insult, particularly in the Arab and Muslim world, at that point risked up to 15 years in jail. But he was handed a three-year term.
The trial had first opened on Feb. 19, but was adjourned for three weeks to determine the status of Bush’s farewell trip.
Before the packed court room of journalists, lawyers and family members, the judge asked Zaidi if he was innocent.
“Yes, my reaction was natural, just like any Iraqi [would have done],” came the reply from the 30-year-old journalist.
Wearing a khaki suit, brown-striped shirt and thin-framed glasses, Zaidi had been led into the packed courtroom under a heavy police escort. He held his chin high as he sat in the dock.
Events took a turn for the worse when newly appointed lawyer Tareq Hab walked out after having not been allowed to finish his statement. The judge said he had already seen it.
Chief defense lawyer Ehiya al-Sadi then argued his client’s motives were “honorable” and the action had expressed his feelings over the suffering of Iraqis since the US-led invasion of 2003.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) greetings with what appeared to be restrained rhetoric that comes as Pyongyang moves closer to Russia and depends less on its long-time Asian ally. Kim wished “the Chinese people greater success in building a modern socialist country,” in a reply message to Xi for his congratulations on North Korea’s birthday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported yesterday. The 190-word dispatch had little of the florid language that had been a staple of their correspondence, which has declined significantly this year, an analysis by Seoul-based specialist service NK Pro showed. It said
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