The stupid little sandcritter was worked over while he was in custody. Why wasn't this Muznutter send to Abu Gharib for a REAL lesson?
On Dec 20, 8:33 am, Florida Cracker 532 <[email protected]> wrote: > Meet the Man Who Threw His Shoes at Bush: Muntader > al-Zeidihttp://www.alternet.org/blogs/waroniraq/112991/ > Learn more about the man who threw the 'shoes heard round the world,' > and find out what's happening to him now. An Iraqi journalist who > threw his shoe at President Bush has been hailed as a hero across the > Middle East, and is receiving so much attention Wikipedia already has > an entry for him. > > Reuters reports that Muntadhar al-Zeidi will be given an award by a > Libyan charity group called Wa Attassimou. > > "Waatassimou group has taken the decision to give Muntazer al-Zaidi > the courage award ... because what he did represents a victory for > human rights across the world," the group, headed by Aicha Gaddafi, > said in a statement. > > The group said the Iraqi authorities should honour the journalist for > his actions. > > Zaidi, accused by the Iraqi government of a "barbaric and ignominious > act" will be tried on charges of insulting the Iraqi state, said the > Iraqi prime minister's media advisor, Yasin Majeed. > > The AP reports that thousands took to the streets Monday to demand > his > release from jail. > > Journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, who was kidnapped by militants last > year, was being held by Iraqi security Monday and interrogated about > whether anybody paid him to throw his shoes at Bush during a press > conference the previous day in Baghdad, said an Iraqi official. > > He was also being tested for alcohol and drugs, and his shoes were > being held as evidence, said the official, speaking on condition of > anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. > > Showing the sole of your shoe to someone in the Arab world is a sign > of extreme disrespect, and throwing your shoes is even worse. Iraqis > whacked a statue of Saddam with their shoes after U.S. Marines > toppled > it to the ground following the 2003 invasion. > > Al Jazeera reports that the journalist's employer, Al-Baghdadiya > television, has demanded his release as well. Zeidi faces a minimum > of > two years in prison if he is convicted of insulting a visiting head > of > state, according to the report. > > On Monday, al-Baghdadiya suspended its normal programming and played > messages of support from across the Arab world. > > A presenter read out a statement calling for his release, "in > accordance with the democratic era and the freedom of expression that > Iraqis were promised by US authorities". > > It said that any harsh measures taken against the reporter would be > reminders of the "dictatorial era" that Washington said its forces > had > invaded Iraq to end. > > Al Jazeera also reports that Saddam Hussein's former lawyer, Khalil > al- > Dulaimi, is organizing a team to defend Zeidi. > > "It was the least thing for an Iraqi to do to Bush, the tyrant > criminal who has killed two million people in Iraq and Afghanistan," > he said. > > "Our defence of Zaidi will be based on the fact that the United > States > is occupying Iraq, and resistance is legitimate by all means, > including shoes." > > The AP reports that al-Zeidi's family members expressed bewilderment > and pride over their brother's defiance of Bush. > > "I swear to Allah, he is a hero," said his sister, who goes by the > nickname Umm Firas, as she watched a replay of her brother's attack > on > an Arabic satellite station. "May Allah protect him." > > The family insisted that al-Zeidi's action was spontaneous -- perhaps > motivated by the political turmoil that their brother had reported > on, > plus his personal brushes with violence and the threat of death that > millions of Iraqis face daily. > > The New York Times Baghdad Bureau Blog quotes al-Zeidi's brother as > saying that he hated the American occupation of Iraq so much he was > willing to cancel his wedding over it. > > Maythem al-Zaidi said his brother had not planned to throw his shoes > prior to Sunday. "He was provoked when Mr. Bush said [during the news > conference] this is his farewell gift to the Iraqi people," he said. > A > colleague of Muntader al-Zaidi's at al-Baghdadiya satellite channel, > however, said the correspondent had been "planning for this from a > long time. He told me that his dream is to hit Bush with shoes," said > the man, who would not give his name. > > Muntader al-Zaidi appears to have a long-standing dislike of the > United States presence in Iraq. He used to finish his reports by > saying he was in "the occupied Baghdad." His brother said that he > hates the occupation so strongly that he canceled his wedding, > saying: > "I will marry when the occupation is over." > > The AP also reports that al-Zeidi was kidnapped by gunmen while on > assignment as a journalist in a Sunni district of Baghdad. he was > also > arrested by American soldiers. Al-Zeidi is a 28-year-old unmarried > Shiite. > > He was freed unharmed three days later after Iraqi television > stations > broadcast appeals for his release. At the time, al-Zeidi told > reporters he did not know who kidnapped him or why, but his family > blamed al-Qaida and said no ransom was paid. > > In January he was taken again, this time arrested by American > soldiers > who searched his apartment building, his brother, Dhirgham, said. He > was released the next day with an apology, the brother said. > > Those experiences helped mould a deep resentment of both the U.S. > military's presence here and Iran's pervasive influence over Iraq's > cleric-dominated Shiite community, according to his family. > > "He hates the American material occupation as much as he hates the > Iranian moral occupation," Dhirgham said. "As for Iran, he considers > the regime as the other side of the American coin." --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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