Shoe Thrower Targets Iraq's PM
Protests have also been taking place in Iraq - as demonstrators there call for sweeping reforms. In their midst is Muntadhr Al Zaydi, the man known internationally for throwing a shoe at former US president George Bush.
He had to stay away from his country for months after serving jail time, but he is now back on the streets of Baghdad. He is on a mission that is again putting him at odds with authorities.
Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh explains

Der Schuhwerfer in Genf
NZZ ONLINE: Stiftung für Kriegsopfer im Irak

Der irakische Journalist Muntadher az-Zaidi, welcher im vergangenen Dezember Präsident Bush in Bagdad mit seinen Schuhen beworfen hatte, hat am Montag in Genf eine Stiftung für die Opfer des Irakkriegs gegründet. Zaidi wurde nach seiner Missfallensbekundung in Bagdad sofort von den irakischen Sicherheitskräften festgenommen und nach seiner Beschreibung auf brutalste Art drei Tage lang misshandelt; eine Zahnlücke und eine geknickte Nase zeugen noch sichtbar davon. Er wurde zu drei Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt wegen Beleidigung eines fremden Staatsgastes, doch am 14. September kam er frei. Nachher weilte er in Beirut, und seit dem 10. Oktober ist er mit einem Touristenvisum in Genf. >>> vk, Genf | Dienstag, 20. Oktober 2009

Freed Iraqi Shoe Thrower Tells of Torture in Jail
THE GUARDIAN: 'My flower to the occupier': Defiant journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi stands by protest against visiting George Bush

Watch Guardian video here
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George Bush has marked his release from jail by angrily defending his action and claiming he was tortured after his arrest.

Muntazer al-Zaidi's supporters and family gave him a rapturous welcome, sacrificing six sheep to mark his release and hanging laurels of flowers around his neck.

Wearing an Iraqi flag, Zaidi gave a detailed account of being tortured after his arrest, and vowed to reveal the names of senior officials in the Iraqi government and army who he said had been involved in his mistreatment.

Listen to Guardian audio: Iraqi shoe thrower released: 'The mood is one of celebration': An Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at former President George W Bush has been released to scenes of jubilation in Baghdad, reports Martin Chulov >>>
Appearing with a missing front tooth, he told of beatings, whippings and electric shocks after his arrest. He said he now feared for his life, and believed US intelligence agents would chase after him.

"These fearful services, the US intelligence services and its affiliated services, will spare no efforts to track me as an insurgent revolutionary ... in a bid to kill me," he told the news conference.

"And here I want to warn all my relatives and people close to me that these services will use all means to trap and try to kill and liquidate me either physically, socially or professionally."

The reporter said he was abused immediately after his arrest, and the next day. He said he was beaten with iron bars, whipped with cords and electrocuted in the backyard of the building in the Green Zone.

"In the morning, I was left in the cold weather after they splashed me with water," he said.

He went on to defend his assault on Bush. "Simply put, what incited me toward confrontation is the oppression that fell upon my people and how the occupation wanted to humiliate my homeland by placing it under its boots," he said.

Zaidi said "throwing shoes against the war criminal Bush" was his answer to the cries of those bereaved by the conflict.

"The criminal murderer is standing here expecting us to throw flowers at him; this was my flower to the occupier."

Zaidi also talked of seeing "many, many massacres in every inch of our homeland" and of "witnessing the screams of victims and the cries of bereaved women". >>> Martin Chulov in Baghdad | Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Des femmes et de l'or pour Mountazer Al-Zaidi
COURRIER INTERNATIONAL: L’homme qui a jeté ses chaussures à la tête de George Bush pourra vivre sur un grand pied à sa sortie de prison. Une avalanche de cadeaux devrait saluer la libération du journaliste irakien Mountazer Al-Zaidi. "On a eu des promesses d’argent, l’émir du Qatar a promis un cheval en or, le colonel Mouammar Kadhafi a dit qu’il lui remettrait la plus haute décoration libyenne, et d’autres ont dit qu’ils lui offriraient une voiture de sport", a déclaré son frère Dargham, cité par la BBC. D’ores et déjà, son employeur, la petite chaîne de télévision Al-Baghdadia, lui a acheté un appartement de quatre pièces, rapporte le Guardian. Sans parler des propositions de mariage. "Un Irakien qui vit au Maroc nous a appelés pour lui offrir sa fille", rapporte son rédacteur en chef Abdul Hamid Al-Saij. "[…] Après l’événement, beaucoup de femmes ont voulu l’épouser, mais nous n’avons pas pris leur nom." Le reporter, devenu un héros pour le monde arabe, devrait être libéré lundi 14 septembre, au terme de neuf mois de prison. "C’est ton baiser d’adieu, chien ! Au nom des veuves et des orphelins d’Irak", avait-il crié à l’ex-président américain lors de son lancer de chaussures. [Source: Courrier International] | Lundi 14 Septembre 2009

Le lanceur de chaussures contre Bush sort de prison
Mountazer al-Zaïdi affirme avoir été torturé en détention et exige des excuses du Premier ministre irakien. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Mountazer al-Zaïdi, le journaliste devenu célèbre après avoir lancé sur l'ex président américain ses souliers fin 2008, souhaite désormais créer un centre pour les orphelins et les veuves, auxquels il avait dédié son geste.

Libre après neuf mois de détention. Le journaliste irakien Mountazer al-Zaidi, propulsé au rang de héros du monde arabe après avoir lancé ses souliers à la tête de George W. Bush, a quitté mardi la prison de la base militaire de Mouthanna. La libération anticipée du reporter pour bonne conduite aurait dû avoir lieu dès lundi mais elle avait dû être repoussée suite à des problèmes administratifs.

Son avocat s'est félicité de la libération et a rendu hommage à l'indépendance de la justice irakienne. Lors d'une conférence de presse, Mountazer al-Zaidi a réclamé lui des excuses au premier ministre Nouri al-Maliki. Il affirme en effet avoir été torturé lors de son emprisonnement. «Au moment où Nouri al-Maliki expliquait à la télévision qu'il ne dormirait pas tant qu'il ne serait pas rassuré sur mon sort, j'étais frappé à coups de câbles électriques et de barres de fer. mes geôliers ont simulé des noyades [une technique employée par la CIA]».

Le reporter était entré dans l'histoire en décembre dernier en projetant ses souliers, taille 43, contre l'ancien locataire de la Maison-Blanche, qui les avaient évitées de justesse. Le journaliste s'était écrié «C'est le baiser d'adieu, espèce de chien». Condamné en première instance à trois ans de prison pour «agression contre un chef d'Etat en visite officielle», sa peine avait été réduite en appel à un an. Dans la culture arabe, jeter ses chaussures à la tête de quelqu'un et le traiter de «chien» est considéré comme une grave insulte. De nombreuses demandes en mariage >>> C.J. (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP | Mardi 15 Septembre 2009

Iraq Shoe Thrower's Jail Term Cut
BBC: The Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at former US President George W Bush has had his sentence cut from three years to one year on appeal.

Muntadar al-Zaidi's lawyer argued that the charge should be changed from assault to insulting a foreign leader.

The judge agreed and reduced the term in line with the less serious offence.

An official for the court said the presiding judge had also taken into account the fact that Zaidi had no prior criminal history. >>> | Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Iraqi Jailed for Bush Shoe Attack
BBC: An Iraqi journalist hailed as a hero in the Arab world for throwing his shoes at former US President George W Bush has been jailed for three years.

Muntadar al-Zaidi, the shoe-thrower. Photo courtesy of the BBC
Muntadar al-Zaidi pleaded not guilty as his trial resumed in Baghdad, telling the judge:"My reaction was natural, just like any Iraqi."

He could have been jailed for 15 years for assaulting a foreign leader on an official visit. >>> | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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Bush Shoe-thrower Asks For Pardon
SKY NEWS: The jailed journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush has asked for a pardon, a spokesman for Iraq's prime minister has said.

Muntadhar al Zeidi, who remains in custody, could face two years inside for insulting a foreign leader.
He requested the pardon in a letter delivered to prime minister Nouri al Maliki.

"It is too late now to regret the big and ugly act that I perpetrated," wrote al Zeidi, the Egypt-based correspondent for an Iraqi-owned television station.

He apparently went on in the letter to recall an interview he conducted with the prime minister in 2005 when al Maliki invited him into his home, saying: "Come in, it is your home too."

"So I ask for your pardon," al Zeidi wrote.

Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, can issue constitutional pardons if recommended by the prime minister, with the exception of certain offences, including international crimes.

In Washington, a State Department spokesman confirmed the Iraqi authorities were dealing with the matter. >>> | Thusday, December 18, 2008

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