Shoe Thrower Due in Court
By: Maria Oliver/NBC
Updated: February 8, 2009
The trial of an Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at then President George W. Bush last year will be held on February 19th his lawyer said Sunday.Dhia Al-Saadi, the head of the Iraqi Lawyers Union, who also heads the defense team of Muntadhar Al Zeidi, said they would also request his release on bail.
The 30-year old journalist, who is considered a hero by many Iraqis for his bizarre protest, has been in custody since the December 14th outburst at Bush's joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki.
He had been due to face a trial in December on a charge of assaulting a foreign leader but his defense team won a delay as it sought to reduce the charges to simply insulting bush.
The original charge stands.

