Protester throws shoe at IMF director during conference in Istanbul

Protester throws shoe at IMF director in Istanbul

ISTANBUL — A protester threw a shoe at IMF Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn but missed during a conference at an Istanbul university Thursday.

The man threw his white sports shoe and ran toward the speakers platform shouting “IMF get out,” but he was blocked by security guards.

Strauss-Kahn looked puzzled as the shoe landed next to him on the platform, and said he did not approve of the action, according to private NTV television.

Guards quickly pushed the shoe-thrower to the floor, covering his mouth with their hands and then dragging him from the hall. The conference was cut short and the hall evacuated.

The protester had attended the conference at Istanbul’s Bilgi University as a guest student from another Turkish university, Anadolu, said Halil Guven, the dean of the Bilgi University.

At least one other protester tried to unfurl a banner, but was overpowered. Demonstrators also raided the governing party’s local office to protest the International Monetary Fund holding its annual conference in Istanbul, NTV said.

Police detained some 20 students who shouted outside the conference center “IMF get out, this country is ours.”