Clerics call for al-Zaidi's release

The Associated Press is today reporting that a number of Iraqi clerics are calling for the release of Muntazar al-Zaidi, who was jailed for three years for throwing a shoe at former President George W Bush. According to AP:

Sheik Suhail al-Iqabi, a follower of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said the sentence against Muntadhar al-Zeidi is "a verdict against the Iraqi people who refuse the American occupation" of Iraq.

And:

Another Shiite cleric in the Sadrist stronghold of Kufa also condemned the prison sentence.

"We just wonder on what law the judge has based his sentence. Was this verdict taken to satisfy their masters?" Sheik Abdul-Hadi al-Mohammadawi said during a sermon. "Why do you not try the Americans who are killing the Iraqi people in cold blood?"

See also:

• Muntazar al-Zaidi Update: 3 Years in Prison for Shoe-Throwing

Muntazar al-Zaidi Update: 3 Years in Prison for Shoe-Throwing

The "trial" of Iraqi journalist Muntazar al-Zaidi finally concluded today, almost three months after he threw his shoes at then-US President George W. Bush.

Unsurprisingly, al-Zaidi was sentenced to three years in jail. Unsurprising because  a prison stay of 15 years, which he could have received for "assaulting" a foreign leader, risked affronting global opinion, while on the other hand, his challenge to Bush could not go unpunished.

To try and keep a lid on protests, Iraqi authorities cleared the courtroom of family and journalists before the sentence was announced.