WORLD> Middle East
Trial begins for Iraqi journalist who threw shoes
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-19 16:52

BAGHDAD -- Court proceedings against the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at then-US President George W. Bush late last year have begun in Baghdad.

People walk past a poster of Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi in the northern Indian city Lucknow January 7, 2009. [Agencies]

Dozens of supporters gathered at the court Thursday to praise the TV journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi and demand his release.

Al-Zeidi has been in custody since the Dec. 14 outburst at Bush's joint news conference with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The defense argues the charge of assaulting a foreign leader is too harsh because it carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment.

Al-Zeidi was transformed into a cult figure across the Muslim world where thousands hailed him as a hero and demanded his release for what they considered a justified act of patriotism.