Middle East News
Iraqi parliament member plans to visit Bush shoe-thrower in jail
Dec 21, 2008, 15:11 GMT
Baghdad - A member of the Iraqi parliament has announced plans for a prison visit to the journalist who threw his shoes at the US president to assess the incarcerated man's living conditions.
Seinab al-Kanani and a brother of journalist Montazer al-Zaidi have petitioned a court for the right to visit al-Zaidi in prison, al-Kanani told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on Sunday.
Al-Zaidi has been in prison since throwing his shoes at US President George W Bush during a December 14 press conference to protest Bush's policies in Iraq.
Relatives and supporters of al-Zaidi entered a third day of silent protests near Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, where both the Iraqi government and the US embassy are situated.
They are calling for al-Zaidi's release.
Strikes were also reported in Jordan as union members and labour associations rallied to al-Zaidi's cause.
Al-Kanani, who belongs to a political party aligned with radical Shiite preacher Moqtada al-Sadr, said he spoke to al-Zaidi by telephone on Saturday.
Al-Kanini said al-Zaidi said he was in good health and had not been tortured.
However, al-Zaidi said he was treated badly when initially arrested. He said security forces knocked out one of his teeth. He also sustained bruises to his face and shoulders.
Some legal experts say al-Zaidi could face up to 10 years in prison for assaulting Bush.
No court date has been set, though al- Zaidi had his first court appearance before an examining magistrate on Wednesday.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Perhaps the 'shoe-thrower' will get a contract with 'NIKE' making
the course of democracy/capitalism complete - show dissent at
the establishment get a lucrative job out of your politicval predilections!!! Ha.
uk Citizen you're an idiot and moron and probably another lowlife muslim living in the UK leeching 'Democracy' because you're a coward muslim that hides in the closet and submits to other muslims to rape your wife. If this idiot threw a shoe at saddam, do you think he would even be alive..but of course you don't know because you ran away like a dog coward to the UK....you muslims make me sick with your pathatic excuse's of even being humans.
Your contention may be true if the incident had happened in the UK, but if it had happened in Iraq under Saddam, or most any other Middle Eastern country, the man would not likely have lived to see nightfall. Let's keep our critique of democracy Iraq in perspective shall we?
I think bush deserve in jail not a muntazer al-zaidi. becouse Bush has blood on his hands....I mean he kill inocent humanbiengs.......we all know that...god will help us all in judgement day...
page: 1
uk CitizenDec 21st, 2008 - 18:03:19
If that happened in the UK the man would be a star, not locked up. So much for democracy! Lets get this in prospective it was a shoe not a bomb for goodness sake. I thought that was what the so called war was about to give people freedom of expression seems to me nothing has changed.
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