Aswat al-Iraq: The official spokesman for the higher judicial council said on Tuesday that Muntadher al-Zaydi refused to entrust Khalil al-Dulaimi, who chaired the commission to defend former president Saddam Hussein, or Arab lawyers to defend him.
"The government dealt with defendant al-Zaydi according to 3rd article of the 223 clause of the Iraqi law according to which if found guilty he will spend 7-10 years behind bars," chief justice Abdelsattar al-Bayraqdar told Aswat al-Iraq.
"The session was attended by his lawyer and the general prosecutor and al-Zaydi refused to let Saddam's lawyer or Arab lawyers to defend him," he said, noting that the journalist demanded an Iraqi lawyer to defend him.
Muntadher 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 Sunday.
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.
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. |