BAGHDAD: The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former US President George W. Bush appealed defiantly to the pride of his war-ravaged country as his trial began yesterday.
In his first public appearance since he was taken into custody on Dec. 14, Muntadar Al-Zeidi said he did not intend to harm Bush or to embarrass Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki.
“What made me do it was the humiliation Iraq has been subjected to due to the US occupation and the murder of innocent people,” Al-Zeidi said. “I wanted to restore the pride of the Iraqis in any way possible, apart from using weapons.”
The 30-year-old journalist also alleged during his testimony to the three-judge panel that he was tortured while in jail — something the Iraqi government has denied.
Al-Zeidi, who has become a folk hero in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East, was greeted by applause and cheers from supporters as he entered the courtroom in western Baghdad. His aunt handed him a scarf imprinted with a red, black and green Iraqi flag, which he kissed and draped around his neck.
The chief judge then threatened to order everybody out of the room if they did not calm down. The trial was later adjourned until March 12.
Al-Zeidi has been in Iraqi custody since he was wrestled to the ground by guards and dragged away after the Dec. 14 outburst at Bush’s joint news conference with Al-Maliki in Baghdad.
When he threw the shoes, he shouted at Bush in Arabic: “This is your farewell kiss, you dog! This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq.”
In his testimony yesterday, Al-Zeidi described his growing frustration as Bush spoke about his victories and achievement at the press conference — held 37 days before Bush handed the war off to his successor, Barack Obama, who has pledged to end it.
“I was seeing a whole country in calamity while Bush was giving a cold and spiritless smile,” Al-Zeidi testified. “He was saying goodbye after causing the death of many Iraqis and economic destruction.”
The obscure television reporter was transformed into a celebrity across the Muslim world, where thousands called him a hero and demanded his release for what they considered a justified act of patriotism.
Al-Zeidi’s attorneys say he has been charged with assaulting a foreign leader, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Al-Zeidi was originally scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 31, but the trial was postponed as the defense unsuccessfully tried to get the charge reduced, saying the act did not merit such harsh punishment.
