JFO urges Talabani, al-Maliki to pardon al-Zaydi

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO) on Thursday expressed sorry over the verdict made by the Supreme Criminal Court to jail Muntather al-Zaydi for three years, calling on President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to pardon al-Zaydi. “The verdict issued today against al-Zaydi shocked journalists,” Hadi Jalo Marei, deputy head of the JFO, told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The JFO urges the president to intervene through issuing a presidential decree to pardon al-Zaydi and we demand al-Maliki to free him through political and parliamentary channels,” he added. The Iraqi Supreme Criminal Court on Thursday sentenced Muntather al-Zaydi, the journalist who hurled his shoes at former U.S. president George Bush, to three years behind bars, the correspondent of al-Boghdadiya satellite television said. 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 Based in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the JFO is an independent organization that aims to defend journalists and to protect journalistic freedoms. SH (S)/SR 1