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.