Shoe Thrower Zaidi Returns Home, Says He Was Tortured
Muntadar al-Zaidi, who was released on Tuesday after serving nine months in prison for throwing his shoes at former US President George Bush, at a news conference in Baghdad said he was tortured in jail.
“At the very moment that the Prime Minister Mr al-Maliki was on TV saying he wouldn’t rest until he was sure I was sleeping on a comfortable bed, I was being hideously tortured,’ he said addressing a press conference.
He demanded that the prime minister apologise for “concealing the truth.”
Explaining his protest, which triggered several similar incidents – especially in election bound India, Zaidi said: “I’m not a hero,” but when I saw the war criminal Bush, I wanted to show my resentment – after six years of occupation, this killer came to my country smiling and bragging about victory.”
“When I saw the pictures of the dead, it kept me awake at night,” said Zaidi, who was employed by al-Baghdadiya news at the time of the incident.
On being targeted with objections for his action, Zaidi told reporters “if I gave the profession of journalism a bad name, I apologise.”
(Based on Media Reports)
