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Iraq shoe thrower claims he was
tortured
Priyaleen K
Renuka
 BAGHDAD: The
Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former
US
President George W Bush says he was tortured by senior government
officials while in jail. Shortly after his release from nine months
in a Baghdad prison, Muntadar al-Zaidi said he wanted an apology -
and would name the officials later.
His relatives
say the 30-year-old reporter still fears for his life. In India, a
Sikh journalist, Jarnail Singh, virtually replicated the form of
protest when he threw a shoe at Internal Security minister P
Chidambaram after the latter refused to take embarassing questions
about denial of justice to families of Sikhs who were killed in
genocidal attacks in 1984 in
Delhi.
The attacks were led by senior leaders of Chidambaram’s party, and a
red-faced Congress had to withdraw Lok Sabha poll tickets from two
of the accused.
Just as
Muntadar’s protest last December made him a hero among many Arabs,
Jarnail Singh too commands wide respect among the Sikhs. His
employes company threw him out of the job despite it being clear
that the act of provocation was far more on part of the Congress and
the Indian establishment in denying justice. Initially sentenced to
three years in jail, Muntadar had the term reduced to 12 months on
appeal and was released three months early for good behaviour.
 After his
release he told reporters:
“Today I am free
again but my home is still a prison.” He went on to say he had been
tortured while in jail, and demanded an apology from Prime Minister
Nouri Maliki. He said he would name the officials who tortured him
in due course.
His allegations
of abuse mirror claims made earlier by his family, who said he had
been beaten, suffering a broken arm, broken ribs and internal
bleeding. The Iraqi military denied the allegations. Zaidi’s family
has been preparing to hold a party for him, saying he has received
offers of money, jobs and even marriage from sympathizers across the
Arab world. His relatives also claim he was even offered a golden
horse by the Emir of Qatar.
‘Goodbye kiss’
When news of his
release filtered through to his family’s home in
Baghdad,
there was an eruption of celebration with women dancing and
singing.His brother, Uday, told a crowd of journalists: “Every time
Bush turns a new page in his life he will find Muntadar’s shoes
waiting for him.”
He said Zaidi
still feared for his life and would fly to
Greece
for medical check-ups. As he flung the shoes at Bush during a news
conference with Maliki, Zaidi shouted: “This is a goodbye kiss from
the Iraqi people, dog. “This is from the widows, the orphans and
those who were killed in Iraq.” The incident was seen as hugely
embarrassing for both Bush and Maliki. But in an interview
afterwards, Bush insisted he did not harbour any ill feeling about
it. “It was amusing - I’ve seen a lot of weird things during my
presidency, and this may rank up there as one of the weirdest,” he
said.
16
September 2009
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