Protesters Hurl Jeers and a Shoe at the Yemeni President

A man was arrested on Sunday after a protest at which at least one shoe was thrown at the Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, outside a hotel on Central Park South.
When Mr. Saleh emerged from the Ritz-Carlton hotel about 2:30 p.m., a small crowd of demonstrators began shouting at the president. One man charged toward him, crossing a street against police orders, then took off his shoe and “attempted to throw” it, a police spokeswoman said. The man was arrested for disorderly conduct.

Another man got off a cleaner throw of his shoe and nearly hit the president, said Ibraham Qatabi, a spokesman for the Yemeni American Coalition for Change, a group of opponents of Mr. Saleh’s who were at the demonstration.

“People got emotional,” Mr. Qatabi said in a telephone interview Sunday night.

The police said about 20 people attended the protest.

Several Yemeni-Americans have criticized Mr. Saleh’s presence in the United States since he arrived on Jan. 28, to be treated for injuries he suffered when a bomb exploded in the mosque of the presidential palace last June.

During the Arab Spring uprisings, many Yemenis protesting Mr. Saleh’s rule were killed, injured or imprisoned. In November, Mr. Saleh, who ruled Yemen for more than three decades, agreed to transfer power to his vice president. Elections have been set for Feb. 21.

By the time Mr. Saleh returned to the hotel around 4:15 p.m., police officers had assembled barricades to corral protesters. Gatherers chanted “I.C.C., not N.Y.C.!” — to voice their hope that Mr. Saleh is investigated by the International Criminal Court. Demonstrators have also expressed frustration with the United States for allowing Mr. Saleh to receive medical care here.

“We were chanting in Arabic that we would not relax and we would not stop until Saleh is on trial, until the murderer is being prosecuted,” Mr. Qatabi said.

At another rally on Thursday morning, organized by the Yemeni American Coalition for Change, protesters had waved Yemeni flags and held signs calling for Mr. Saleh’s prosecution. On Sunday, Mr. Saleh appeared unfazed by the demonstration, even acknowledging the crowd, Mr. Qatabi said.

“He waved,” Mr. Qatabi added. “People thought maybe the officials around him told him we were supporters.”