Bush's shoe-thrower set to leave prison as hero of the Arab world

MARTIN CHULOV IN BAGHDAD
September 12, 2009


Assault by shoe ... former president George Bush ducks the projectile last year. Photo: AP

AS HIS SIZE 10s spun through the air towards George Bush, Muntazer al-Zaidi - the man the world now knows as the shoe-thrower - was bracing for an American bullet.

''He thought the Secret Service was going to shoot him,'' says Zaidi's younger brother, Maitham. ''He expected that, and he was not afraid to die.''

Zaidi's actions during the then US president's swansong visit to Iraq last December have not stopped reverberating since. On Monday, when the journalist walks out of prison, his 10 raging seconds, which came to define his country's past six miserable years, are set to take on a new life even more dramatic than the opening act.

Across Iraq and in every corner of the Arab world, Zaidi is being feted. The words he spat at Mr Bush -

''This is your farewell kiss, you dog. This is for the widows and orphans of Iraq''

- have been immortalised, and in many cases memorised. Pictures of the president ducking have been etched onto walls across Baghdad, made into T-shirts in Egypt and appeared in children's games in Turkey.

Zaidi has won the adulation of millions, who believe his act of defiance did what their leaders had been too cowed to do. Iraq has been short of heroes since the dark days of Saddam Hussein, and many civilians are bestowing greatness on the figure that finally took the fight to an overlord.

''He is a David and Goliath figure,'' said Salah al-Janabi, a whitegoods salesman in Baghdad. ''When the history books are written, they will look back on this episode with great acclaim. Al-Zaidi's shoes were his slingshot.''

From his prison cell, Zaidi has a sense of the gathering fuss, but not the full extent of the benefactors and patrons preparing for his release.

A four-bedroom home has been built by his former boss. A new car - and the promise of many more - awaits. Pledges of harems, money and health care are pouring in to his employers, the Al-Baghdadia television channel.

''One Iraqi who lived in Morocco called to offer to send his daughter to be Muntazer's wife,'' said editor Abdul Hamid al-Saij.

''Another called from Saudi offering $10 million [$11.6 million] for his shoes, and another called from Morocco offering a gold-saddled horse … we had callers from Palestine and many women asking to marry him, but we didn't take their names. Many of their reactions were emotional. We will see what happens when he is freed.''

Zaidi's brother insists no one put Muntazer up to such an act. From the roof of his brother's new home, Maitham al-Zaidi said: ''He always thought he would die as a martyr, either by al-Qaeda or the Americans. More than once he was kidnapped by insurgents. He was surprised that Bush's guards didn't shoot him on the spot.''

Muntazer Al-Zaidi has told Maitham, and another brother, Vergam, that he is planning to open an orphanage when he leaves prison and will not work again as a journalist.

''He doesn't want his work to be a circus,'' said Vergam. ''Every time he asked someone a difficult question they would have responded by asking whether he was going to throw his shoes at them.''

Guardian News & Media


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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at then-President George W. Bush at a news conference in December could be released from jail as early as next week, his attorney told CNN on Friday.
TV reporter Muntadher al-Zaidi, shown in a file photo, was jailed after throwing his shoes at President Bush.




Muntadhar al-Zaidi is serving one year in prison after his original three-year sentence was reduced by an appellate court in April.

Dhiyaa al-Saadi, head of Iraq's Bar Association and al-Zaidi's chief defense attorney, said he had submitted a petition about two months ago to authorities requesting the release, but no decision has been announced yet. Under Iraqi law, a "conditional discharge" allows for the release of a prisoner after he serves three-quarters of his sentence and is based on good behavior during detention.

Al-Zaidi has been in jail since the December 14 news conference at which he threw both his shoes at Bush and called him a "dog" -- two of the worst insults in the Middle East. Bush ducked the shoes and was not hurt in the incident.

Al-Saadi was optimistic about his client's release happening as early as Monday.

On Thursday, al-Zaidi's family was preparing for his possible release; his two brothers Udey and Dhirgham along with their children plastered the walls of their modest Baghdad home with his posters.

"We are happy, like any detainee's family would be happy for the release of its son after the bitter time he spent in jail ... " said Dhirgham al-Zaidi, who expected his brother to be released sometime next week.

He said the family has received many phone calls from supporters across the country who plan to travel to Baghdad and welcome al-Zaidi after his release.

Al-Zaidi was sentenced to jail for "assaulting a foreign head of state on an official visit to Iraq," a crime under Iraqi law.

While many Iraqis do not hold Bush in high esteem, opinions were mixed in Iraq following the incident. Some viewed al-Zaidi as a national hero, with thousands taking to the streets calling for his release; others said his act was against Arab traditions of honoring guests.


Al-Zaidi's brothers said they have been offered many gifts and financial rewards, though they say they have rejected them.

Dhirgham al-Zaidi, who met with his brother in jail last week, said his brother will use whatever he gets to help those in need.

"He told me, 'I will dedicate the rest of my life to the weak ones in Iraq, the orphans and widows,' " Dhirgham al-Zaidi said.

During his March court appearance, al-Zaidi explained his actions in an hourlong appearance at the Central Criminal Court of Iraq. He said he was spurred on by the "violations that are committed against the Iraqi people."

"I could only see Bush and feel the blood of the innocents flow under his feet, as he was smiling that smile -- as if he had come to bid farewell to Iraq and with the last support and more than one million martyrs," al-Zaidi said. "At that moment, I felt this is the man who killed our nation ... the main murderer and the main person responsible for killing our nation."

The reporter told the judge that he had intended to embarrass the U.S. president.

Al-Zaidi, whose reporting for the private anti-American channel al-Baghdadiya focused on the plight of the widows and orphans, yelled "this is the farewell kiss, you dog" as he threw the first shoe at Bush, and while throwing the second one said it was from the widows and orphans.