Al-Zaydi’s lawyer threatens to refuge to Cassation Court

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The lawyer of Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaydi said on Wednesday that the defense team seeks to appeal against the decision to refer his client to the court according to the article 223 of the penal code and to refer him instead according to the article 227. “The defense team prepared an appeal against the decision, because al-Zaydi was aiming to insult Bush in his capacity as a head of the state occupying Iraq,” Diyaa al-Saadi told IraqiNews.com. “Al-Zaydi was not aiming to kill Bush, so he should be referred according to the article 227 of the Iraqi penal code which stipulates spending not more than two years behind bars or paying a fine,” al-Saadi, who is the president of the Iraqi Bar Association, explained.He said in case his request not met, the defense team will refuge to the Federal Court of Cassation The official spokesman for the higher judicial council Judge Abdul Sattar al-Berqadar had said that al-Zaydi will be sued according to the article 223 of the Iraqi penal code, which is related to the aggression of the head of a foreign state. In case he was found guilty, he will be jailed not more than seven years. Muntadhar al-Zaydi threw a pair of shoes at U.S. President George Bush during a joint press conference with the Iraqi premier. President Bush quickly ducked when a pair of shoes was hurled at him. Al-Zaydi, a young man of no more than 30 years old, has worked for al-Boghdadiya since its establishment in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. He had been kidnapped two years ago by unidentified gunmen while stepping out of his home in al-Bab al-Sharqi area, central Baghdad. A week later he was found lying on the ground near auto selling stores in al-Nahda square, Baghdad, at a late night hour. Al-Zaydi is considered one of the journalists outspokenly criticizing the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq. He had written several reports opposing the U.S. military presence in the country. SH (S) 1