London - A German student on trial for throwing a shoe towards Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiaboa during a lecture at Cambridge University went "beyond lawful protest," British prosecutors alleged Monday. Martin Jahnke, 27, a pathology student at the elite university's Darwin College, had earlier told police that his action on February 2 had been "legitimate" considering the "crimes" of the Chinese government.
However, prosecutor Caroline Allison said Monday that Jahnke's action, while starting off as a lawful protest, became an "act of aggression" when the shoe was thrown. The missile missed its target by a few metres.
Earlier, lawyers for Jahnke had failed in their attempt to halt the trial after arguing that the Chinese government had "influenced" the Crown Prosecution Service and the police in pushing for a trial.
The closing dates of the trial, which is set to end Wednesday, were brought forward so that a verdict would not directly coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4.
