The Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush and called him a "dog" will stand trial on December 31st, a court official said today.
TV journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi is charged with "assaulting a foreign head of state visiting Iraq," said Abdul Satar Birqadr, spokesman for Iraq's High Judicial Council, adding a three-judge panel will run the hearings.
"The case is not complicated and I expect it won't take a great deal of time to reach a ruling," he said, adding that it was up to the court to determine a sentence.
US-backed Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has condemned Mr Zaidi's actions but he will likely not want to alienate the journalist's many supporters, particularly as he and other politicians weigh their parties' odds in provincial elections next month.
The defendant's lawyer said his client had been severely beaten following the shoe-throwing incident at a December 14 news conference in Baghdad, but Mr Zaidi's brother said the reporter would do the same again if he had the chance.
Uday al-Zaidi said his brother had told an investigative judge on Sunday that he had expected to be shot after hurling his first shoe.
But when that did not happen, "'that gave me time to throw the second (shoe),'" Mr Zaidi quoted his brother as saying. "'If the clock were turned back, I'd do the same thing over again.'"
The trial of Mr Zaidi, whose actions struck a chord among those who blame Bush for the bloodshed unleashed by the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, will likely be closely watched.
In an unusual move that may reflect the sensitivity of the case for Mr Maliki, Iraqi authorities will give the media full access to the trial.
Mr Zaidi, who visited his brother for over an hour at an undisclosed location where he is being held in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, said that "the signs of torture were clear on [Muntazer al-Zaidi's] face and his body."
He said the reporter has a tooth missing, his nose was injured and there were bruises on his arms and legs.
Uday al-Zaidi said his brother had been tortured into telling the authorities that someone persuaded him to throw his shoes at Mr Bush, adding his brother intended to sue the Iraqi security services.
Reuters