Shoe-throwing jounalist 'did not seek pardon'

A trial date has been set for the Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush and called him a "dog". TV journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi is charged with "assaulting a foreign head of state visiting Iraq," said Abdul Satar Birqadr, spokesman for Iraq's High Judicial Council. "The Criminal Court has set a date for trial on December 31 and a three-judge panel will run the hearings," he said. "The case is not complicated and I expect it won't take a great deal of time to reach a ruling," he said, adding that it was up to the court to determine a sentence. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has condemned Zaidi's actions but it is likely he will not want to alienate the journalist's many supporters, particularly with provincial elections coming up next month. The defendant's lawyer said his client had been severely beaten following the shoe-throwing incident at a December 14 news conference in Baghdad. But Zaidi's brother said the reporter would do the same again if he had the chance. Uday al-Zaidi said his brother had told an investigative judge on Sunday that he had expected to be shot after hurling his first shoe. But when that did not happen "'that gave me time to throw the second (shoe),'" Zaidi quoted his brother as saying. "'If the clock were turned back, I'd do the same thing over again.'" The trial of Zaidi will be closely watched by those who blame Mr Bush for the bloodshed unleashed by the 2003 allied invasion of Iraq. In an unusual move that may reflect the sensitivity of the case for Mr Maliki, Iraqi authorities will give the media full access to the trial.

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ITN | December 22, 2008

Tags:. .zaidis. .uday. .nuri. .almaliki. .hurling