BAGHDAD: The Iraqi journalist who became an instant media star for hurling his shoes at US President George W. Bush appeared yesterday before a judge investigating the incident, his brother said.
Television reporter Muntadar Al-Zeidi, 29, whose relatives and colleagues said acted because he “detested” Bush and America, was brought before the judge in the high-security Green Zone in the heart of Baghdad.
Durgham Al-Zeidi said he and another brother were told by the investigating judge that Muntadar had “cooperated well,” but that they were unable to attend the hearing and had no further details.
Under Iraqi law, Muntadar risks up to seven years in jail for “offending the head of a foreign state.”
Durgham said on Tuesday that his brother had been taken to the US-run Ibn Sina hospital in the Green Zone after being beaten by security guards and suffering a broken arm and ribs, as well as injuries to an eye and a leg.
He was unable to say whether Muntadar had sustained the injuries while being overpowered during Sunday’s protest or after his arrest and there was no information yesterday about the journalist’s condition. Muntadar grabbed the world spotlight when he threw his shoes at Bush during a press conference and called him a dog during a farewell visit to Iraq by the US leader who ordered the invasion of the country in 2003. Bush ducked both shoes and Muntadar, who works for private Iraqi television station Al-Baghdadia, was wrestled to the ground by guards after his action, regarded as the supreme mark of disrespect in the Muslim world.
To avoid a repeat of the shoe-throwing incident, tight security measures were introduced at a press conference yesterday between Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and his counterpart Gordon Brown of Britain.
Extra security guards were brought in to monitor the journalists and anyone not appearing on a list of accredited reporters was barred, although no one was asked to remove their footwear.
One of Muntadar’s colleagues said that he had asked the station to send three lawyers to defend him, but it was not known if anyone represented him at yesterday’s hearing.
Saddam Hussein’s former lawyer Khalil Al-Dulaimi said he was forming a team to defend Muntadar and that around 200 lawyers had offered their services for free.
