The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush has been sentenced to three years in jail, and people who think it’s cool to assault the President of the United States are seething and whining.

Chief defense attorney Dhia al-Saadi then demanded that the charge be dismissed, saying his client’s action “was an expression of freedom and does not constitute a crime.”

He echoed al-Zeidi’s testimony at the previous hearing, saying his client had been provoked by anger over Bush’s claims of success in a war that has devastated his country.

“It was an act of throwing a shoe and not a rocket. It was meant as an insult to the occupation,” the lawyer said.