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Kurd sentenced to three years for throwing shoe at Erdogan

Jun 30, 2010, 14:34 GMT

Seville, Spain - A Syrian man of Kurdish origin has been sentenced to three years in prison in Spain for throwing a shoe at Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, judicial sources said Wednesday.

The incident occurred on February 22, when Erdogan was visiting the southern Spanish city of Seville.

Erdogan was getting into a car after receiving a cultural cooperation award, when the 27-year-old man hurled a shoe at the prime minister, shouting the name of Kurdistan.

The shoe hit Erdogan's car instead of the premier, and was picked up by his bodyguards.

The Syrian had been living in Seville for months. Prosecutors proposed substituting his prison sentence with an expulsion order, but the court rejected that option, because the accused feared reprisals in Syria.

The man said he did not intend to hurt Erdogan, but rather to draw attention to the situation of Turkey's Kurdish population.