By Safiya Boucaud, JURIST

A federal appeals court in Baghdad on Tuesday reduced the sentence for the Iraqi journalist accused of throwing his shoe at former US president George W. Bush from three years to one year.

Lawyers for Muntadar al-Zaidi based their appeal on an Iraqi law that provides a maximum two-year sentence for the public insult of a foreign head of state.

This appeal followed last month’s sentencing by the Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI) on charges of assault, which carries with it a longer sentence than insult.

The court’s decision to reduce the sentence was based in part on the fact that al-Zaidi had no prior criminal record.

The shoe-throwing incident occurred at a December 14 joint news conference at which Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signed a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) governing the future US military presence in the country.

Al-Zaidi, who had allegedly suffered brutality first hand in Iraq having been kidnapped and released by Shiite militiamen in 2007, testified to a three-judge panel that his actions were meant to restore Iraqi citizens’ pride.

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Tags: Assault, Baghdad, CCCI, George W. Bush, Insult, Iraq, Muntadar al-Zaidi, Nouri al-Maliki, sentence, shoe, shoe-throwing, throwing

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