MP urges al-Maliki to pardon al-Zaydi

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: MP from the Iraqi Accord Front (IAF), Nour al-Din al-Hayali, on Tuesday demanded Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to issue a special pardon on al-Baghdadia channel’s correspondent Muntadhar al-Zaydi, who was sentenced to three years in jail for throwing his shoes at former U.S. President George W. Bush. Speaking at a press conference at the parliament, attended by the IraqiNews.com news agency, al-Hayali said “according to article 73 of the Iraqi constitution which authorizes the president of the republic to issue a special pardon upon recommendation from the prime minister, I demand al-Maliki to pardon al-Zaydi because it is in the national interest to free him and close the case.” He said he is about to gather signatures from lawmakers from different political blocs to present them to the president and the prime minister to pardon al-Zaydi. On March 12, Iraq’s court sentenced al-Zaydi to a three-year prison term for throwing his shoes at former U.S. President Bush in a press conference during his last visit to Iraq on December 12, 2008. SH (P)/SR 1