Iraqi shoe-thrower's jail sentence reduced from 3 years to 1

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1. Amit bang
   

   Iraq's federal appeals court has reduced the sentence for the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at then-President Bush at a news conference in December, his lawyer said Tuesday.
   An Iraqi journalist touched off a firestorm when he threw his shoes at then-President Bush in December.
   
   Muntadhar al-Zaidi will serve one year in jail instead of three, the attorney said. Bush was able to duck, and was unhurt in the incident.
   
   Iraq's Central Criminal Court sentenced al-Zaidi to three years in March after he was found guilty of assaulting a foreign head of state on an official visit to Iraq. It was Bush's last visit to Baghdad before leaving office in January.
   
   Judge Abdul Sattar al-Beeraqdar, spokesman for Iraq's Higher Judicial Council, said the court reduced al-Zaidi's sentence because he is young and had no previous criminal record.
   
   The one year includes the time al-Zaidi has already served in jail, the spokesman said. Al-Zaidi has been in jail since immediately after the December 14 incident.
   
   Al-Zaidi's lawyer, Dhiaa al-Saadi, said the appeals court announced its decision to reduce the sentence Monday, after lawyers appealed the criminal court ruling.
   
   Al-Baghdadia TV, where the 30-year-old al-Zaidi worked, has been broadcasting a bulletin announcing the reduced sentence.

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