Iraqis take to street for release of shoe-thrower

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Source: CCTV.com | 12-18-2008 08:55

Pics: Iraqi reporter throws shoes at Bush in Baghdad

About 1,500 demonstrators have taken to the streets of a Baghdad Sunni neighborhood. They were demanding the release of an Iraqi journalist who had hurled his shoes at US President George W. Bush.

Iraqis hold up a posters calling for the release of an Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at visiting US President George W. Bush. (AFP/Ahmad al-Rubaye)

The demonstrators held pictures of Bush ducking under one of the shoes ... during a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Sunday. The journalist in question, Muntadhar Al-Zeidi, is now in custody for allegedly insulting a foreign leader, a charge that carries a maximum of two years in prison.

In accordance with Iraqi law, the case will be given to a judge to decide whether it's trial-worthy. Meanwhile, Iraq's parliamentary speaker says he intends to resign after legislators have argued over the case.