The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W. Bush has a broken arm and ribs after being struck by Iraqi security agents, his brother said yesterday.
Muntazer al-Zaidi’s brother, Durgham, was unable to say whether the journalist had sustained the injuries while being overpowered during Sunday’s protest against Bush’s visit or while in custody later.
He said he had been told that his brother was being held by Iraqi forces in the heavily fortified Green Zone compound in central Baghdad where the US embassy and most government offices are housed.
“He has got a broken arm and ribs, and cuts to his eye and arm,” Durgham said.
“He is being held by forces under the command of Muaffaq al-Rubaie,” Iraq’s national security adviser, he said.
Zaidi jumped up during a joint a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Sunday, and shouted: “It is the farewell kiss, you dog,” and threw two shoes at the US leader.
The shoes missed after Bush ducked and Zaidi was wrestled to the ground by guards.
Zaidi, 29, a journalist for the private Iraqi television channel Al-Baghdadia, was overpowered by Iraqi security forces after he threw the shoes at Bush in a gesture seen as the supreme mark of disrespect in the Muslim world.
An AFP journalist said that cuts were visible on his face as he was led away into custody.
Bush, who was on a swansong visit to the battleground that came to dominate his eight-year presidency, ducked when the shoes were thrown and later made light of the incident.
Meanwhile, Iraq faced mounting calls on Monday to release the journalist. His action was branded shameful by the government but hailed in the Arab world as an ideal parting gift to an unpopular US president.
Zaidi’s colleagues said he “detested America” and had been plotting such an attack for months against the man who ordered the war on his country.
“Throwing the shoes at Bush was the best goodbye kiss ever ... it expresses how Iraqis and other Arabs hate Bush,” wrote Musa Barhoumeh, editor of Jordan’s independent Al-Gahd newspaper.
In Washington al-Zaidi was labeled an attention seeker.
“There is no way of knowing what the motivation of the individual was — he was obviously trying to get attention for himself,” State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters.
“This was one incident and one individual’s views, but if you look at the direction we are heading in Iraq now, it’s a very, very positive direction and we hope to see that continue,” he said.
The Iraqi government branded Zaidi’s actions as “shameful” and demanded an apology from his Cairo-based employer, which in turn called for his immediate release from custody.
Al-Baghdadia issued a statement demanding Zaidi’s release “in line with the democracy and freedom of expression that the US authorities promised the Iraqi people.”
“Any measures against Muntazer will be considered the acts of a dictatorial regime,” it added.
Few Iraqis expressed much sympathy for Bush but views on the journalist’s actions were mixed.
Baghdad shopkeeper Hamza Mahdi, 30, was critical.
“I don’t like Bush, but I don’t agree with this action — it’s not civilized,” he said. “Journalists should use pen and paper to make their point and not their shoes.”
One of his customers, Um Seif, 45, disagreed.
“Me, I support him. Everyone should support him,” she said. “Don’t you remember what the Americans did to us? Have you already forgotten?”
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in