Shoe Thrower 'Beaten in Custody'; Iraqis Rally for Journalist's Release
December 17th, 2008 - by admin
BBC World News – 2008-12-17 00:57:33
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7785338.stm
Shoe Thrower 'Beaten in Custody'
(December 16, 2008) — The brother of the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush has said that the reporter has been beaten in custody. Muntadar al-Zaidi has suffered a broken hand, broken ribs and internal bleeding, as well as an eye injury, his older brother, Dargham, told the BBC.
Mr Zaidi threw his shoes at Mr Bush at a news conference, calling him "a dog".
The head of Iraq's journalists' union told the BBC that officials told him Mr Zaidi was being treated well. The union head, Mouyyad al-Lami, said he hoped to visit his colleague later. An Iraqi official said Mr Zaidi had been handed over to the judicial authorities, according to the AFP news agency.
Earlier, Dargham al-Zaidi told the BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Baghdad he believed his brother had been taken to a US military hospital in the Iraqi capital.
A second day of rallies in support of Mr Zaidi have been held across Iraq, calling for his release. Meanwhile, offers to buy the shoes are being made around the Arab world, reports say.
Hero Figure
Mr Zaidi told our correspondent that, despite offers from many lawyers, his brother has not been given access to a legal representative since being arrested by forces under the command of Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, Iraq's national security adviser.
The Iraqi authorities have said the 28-year-old will be prosecuted under Iraqi law, although it is not yet clear what the charges might be. Iraqi lawyers have speculated that he could face charges of insulting a foreign leader and the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, who was standing next to President Bush during the incident. The offence carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail.
Our correspondent says that the previously little-known journalist from the private Cairo-based al-Baghdadia TV has become a hero to many, not just in Iraq but across the Arab world, for what many saw as a fitting send-off for a deeply unpopular US president. As he flung the shoes, Mr Zaidi shouted: "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog."
Dargham al-Zaidi told the BBC that his brother deliberately bought Iraqi-made shoes, which were dark brown with laces. They were bought from a shop on al-Khyam street, a well-known shopping street in central Baghdad.
However, not everyone in Iraq has been supportive of the journalist's action. Speaking earlier in Baghdad, Mouyyad al-Lami described Mr Zaidi's action as "strange and unprofessional", but urged Mr Maliki to show compassion.
"Even if he has made a mistake, the government and the judiciary are broad-minded and we hope they consider his release because he has a family and he is still young," he told the Associated Press news agency. "We hope this case ends before going to court." Abducted by insurgents The shoes themselves are said to have attracted bids from around the Arab world.
According to unconfirmed newspaper reports, the former coach of the Iraqi national football team, Adnan Hamad, has offered $100,000 (£65,000) for the shoes, while a Saudi citizen has apparently offered $10m (£6.5m).
Mr Zaidi said his actions were for Iraqi widows and orphans The daughter of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Aicha, said her charity would honour the reporter with a medal of courage, saying his action was a "victory for human rights".
The charity called on the media to support Mr Zaidi and put pressure on the Iraqi government to free him. Mr Zaidi, who lives in Baghdad, has worked for al-Baghdadia for three years.
Muzhir al-Khafaji, programming director for the channel, described him as a "proud Arab and an open-minded man". He said that Mr Zaidi was a graduate of communications from Baghdad University. "He has no ties with the former regime. His family was arrested under Saddam's regime," he said. Mr Zaidi has previously been abducted by insurgents and held twice for questioning by US forces in Iraq.
In November 2007, he was kidnapped by a gang on his way to work in central Baghdad and released three days later without a ransom. He said at the time that the kidnappers had beaten him until he lost consciousness, and used his necktie to blindfold him. Mr Zaidi never learned the identity of his kidnappers, who questioned him about his work before letting him go.
Iraq Rally for Bush Shoe Attacker
(December 16, 2008) — Thousands of Iraqis have demanded the release of a local TV reporter who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush at a Baghdad news conference. Crowds gathered in Baghdad's Sadr City district, calling for "hero" Muntadar al-Zaidi to be freed from custody.
Officials at the Iraqi-owned TV station, al-Baghdadiya, called for the release of their journalist, saying he was exercising freedom of expression. Iraqi officials have described the incident as shameful.
A statement released by the government said Mr Zaidi's actions, which also included him shouting insults at President Bush, "harmed the reputation of Iraqi journalists and Iraqi journalism in general".
Correspondents say the protesters are supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr – a leading critic of the US presence in Iraq. Smaller protests were reported in Basra and Najaf.
The Iraqi government has demanded an on-air apology from his employer.
An Iraqi official was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the journalist was being interrogated to determine whether anybody paid him to throw his shoes at President Bush. He was also being tested for alcohol and drugs, and his shoes were being held as evidence, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Cairo-based al-Baghdadiya TV channel said Mr Zaidi should be freed because he had been exercising freedom of expression – something which the Americans had promised to Iraqis on the ousting of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. "Any measures against Muntadar will be considered the acts of a dictatorial regime," the firm said in a statement.
The programming director for al-Baghdadiya, Muzhir al-Khafaji, described the journalist as a "proud Arab and an open-minded man". He said he was afraid for Mr Zaidi's safety, adding that the reporter had been arrested by US officials twice before. "We fear that our correspondents in Iraq will be arrested. We have 200 correspondents there," he added.
'Proud Arab'
Mr Zaidi leapt from his chair at Sunday's news conference and hurled first one shoe and then the other at Mr Bush, who was joined at the podium by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.
The shoes missed as Mr Bush ducked, and Mr Zaidi was immediately wrestled to the ground by security guards and frogmarched from the room.
"This is a farewell kiss, you dog," he yelled in Arabic as he threw his shoes. "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."
Arabic TV stations have been repeatedly showing footage of the incident, which was also front-page news in many papers. Correspondents say the journalist's tirade was echoed by Arabs across the Middle East who are fed up with US policy in the region. "He [George Bush] deserves to be hit with 100, not just one or two shoes. Who wants him to come here?" said a man in Baghdad. But his view was not expressed by everyone.
"I think this incident is unnecessary, to be honest. That was a press conference, not a war. If someone wants to express his opinion he should do so in the proper manner, not this way," said another Baghdad resident.
Courts Criticised
Also on Monday, Human Rights Watch accused Iraq's main criminal court of failing to meet basic international standards of justice. The New York-based group said torture and abuse of prisoners before trial appeared common, and legal representation was often ineffectual.
Human Rights Watch said some of the court's failings showed disturbing similarities to those that existed during the Saddam Hussein era. The group called on Iraq to take immediate steps to protect detainees from torture, and ensure they had access to proper defence and received a prompt hearing.
© BBC MMVIII
Mid East Press Glee at Incident
Bush shoe-ing worst Arab insult
Our correspondent says that the previously little-known journalist from the private Cairo-based al-Baghdadia TV has become a hero to many, not just in Iraq but across the Arab world, for what many saw as a fitting send-off for a deeply unpopular US president.
As he flung the shoes, Mr Zaidi shouted: "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog."
However, not everyone in Iraq has been supportive of the journalist's action. Speaking earlier in Baghdad, Mouyyad al-Lami described Mr Zaidi's action as "strange and unprofessional", but urged Mr Maliki to show compassion. "Even if he has made a mistake, the government and the judiciary are broad-minded and we hope they consider his release because he has a family and he is still young," he told the Associated Press news agency. "We hope this case ends before going to court."
Abducted by Insurgents
The shoes themselves are said to have attracted bids from around the Arab world.
According to unconfirmed newspaper reports, the former coach of the Iraqi national football team, Adnan Hamad, has offered $100,000 (£65,000) for the shoes, while a Saudicitizen has apparently offered $10m (£6.5m).
Mr Zaidi said his actions were for Iraqi widows and orphans. The daughter of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Aicha, said her charity would honour the reporter with a medal of courage, saying his action was a "victory for human rights". The charity called on the media to support Mr Zaidi and put pressure on the Iraqi government to free him.
Mr Zaidi, who lives in Baghdad, has worked for al-Baghdadia for three years. Muzhir al-Khafaji, programming director for the channel, described him as a "proud Arab and an open-minded man". He said that Mr Zaidi was a graduate of communications from Baghdad University. "He has no ties with the former regime. His family was arrested under Saddam's regime," he said.
Mr Zaidi has previously been abducted by insurgents and held twice for questioning by US forces in Iraq. In November 2007 he was kidnapped by a gang on his way to work in central Baghdad and released three days later without a ransom. He said at the time that the kidnappers had beaten him until he lost consciousness, and used his necktie to blindfold him.
Mr Zaidi never learned the identity of his kidnappers, who questioned him about his work before letting him go.