- Title: IRAQ: Released shoe thrower Muntazer al-Zaidi holds own news conference
- Date: 16th September 2009
- Summary: BAGHDAD, IRAQ (SEPTEMBER 15, 2009) (REUTERS) RELEASED JOURNALIST AND SHOE THROWER, MUNTAZER AL-ZAIDI BEING PREPARED TO GIVE NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MUNTAZER AL-ZAIDI, SAYING: "Today I am free, but the homeland is still imprisoned." AUDIENCE/ AL-ZAIDI GIVING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MUNTAZER AL-ZAIDI, SAYING "What provoked me to a confrontation was the injustice that has befallen my people, and the way in which the occupation wanted to humiliate my country by placing it and its people -- the elderly, women, children and men -- under its boot." AL-ZAIDI GIVING PRESSER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MUNTAZER AL-ZAIDI, SAYING "That was the rose I offered the occupier and those who wanted to deny history by spreading lies either before or after the occupation. I wanted to defend the honour of my occupation (journalism) and that of my country after the shoes (of the occupier) trod on it and soiled it and violated the homeland's honour." AL-ZAIDI GIVING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MUNTAZER AL-ZAIDI, SAYING "At the time the Iraqi prime minister appeared on satellite channels saying he would not sleep until he was assured of his (Bush's) safety, I found ample bedding and cover. As the prime minister was speaking, I was being tortured in the most cruel manner, being electrocuted, beaten with cables, beaten with metal rods." END OF NEWS CONFERENCE/ AL-ZAIDI LEAVING TOP VIEW OF JOURNALISTS LEAVING
- Embargoed: 1st October 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
- Reuters ID: LVA38XR2GK31SPGCA19RFMMLJTD3
- Story Text: An Iraqi reporter who shot to worldwide fame when he hurled his shoes at then U.S. President George W. Bush was released from prison on Tuesday.
Muntazer al-Zaidi, whose act during a news conference last December chimed with the feelings of many Iraqis towards the former U.S. leader, was met outside the jail by parliamentarians who support his case, brother Uday al-Zaidi said.
Zaidi was sentenced to three years in jail for assaulting a visiting head of state, but his sentence was later reduced to one year.
"Today I am free again but my home is still a prison," he told reporters shortly after his release, a swipe at the continued U.S. military presence in Iraq six and half years after the invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.
He was slurring his speech because of a missing tooth.
"What provoked me to a confrontation was the injustice that has befallen my people, and the way in which the occupation wanted to humiliate my country by placing it and its people -- the elderly, women, children and men -- under its boot,"
he told a news conference after his release.
Al-Zaidi added that due to the injustice of the occupation in Iraq, he decided to do his act against Bush.
"That was the rose I offered the occupier and those who wanted to deny history by spreading lies either before or after the occupation. I wanted to defend the honour of my occupation (journalism) and that of my country after the shoes (of the occupier) trod on it and soiled it and violated the homeland's honour," he added.
An Iraqi court ordered Zaidi's release on Monday because under Iraqi law all prisoners sentenced to one year without previous convictions and who show good behaviour automatically get out after serving three quarters of it.
Al-Baghdadiya showed TV footage of Zaidi arriving at its station surrounded by guards. He was wrapped in an Iraqi flag and wore black sunglasses. On arrival, the staff at his TV station slaughtered at least three sheep in his honour.
Millions of people across the world saw online or TV footage of Zaidi throwing his shoes at Bush and calling him a "dog," both insults in the Middle East.
It caused huge embarrassment to Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who tried to intercept one of the shoes as he stood beside Bush.
Al-Zaidi said that he was tortured with all means of torture in prison.
""At the time the Iraqi prime minister appeared on satellite channels saying he would not sleep until he was assured of his (Bush's) safety, I found ample bedding and cover. As the prime minister was speaking, I was being tortured in the most cruel manner, being electrocuted, beaten with cables, beaten with metal rods," he said.
Many viewers, including in the United States, applauded his bravery. Venezuela's anti-American President Hugo Chavez called him courageous. Fathers from other Arab nations have offered Muntazer their daughters as brides.
At Zaidi's house, his family and a crowd of supporters eagerly awaiting him cheered and ululated. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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