Iraq shoe thrower Zaidi faces Paris shoe-ing

enlightened1

Member of The Month JANUARY 2010
Regular Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2009
Messages
880
Likes
60


The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former US President George W Bush has found himself on the receiving end of a shoe-throwing attack.

Muntadar al-Zaidi was speaking about Iraqi war victims at a news conference in Paris, but managed to duck in time.

Media reports said the attacker was an exiled Iraqi journalist who defended US policy and accused Zaidi of "working for dictatorship in Iraq".

After a brief scuffle in the audience, Zaidi quipped: "He stole my technique."

The AP news agency said Zaidi's brother, Maithan, chased the attacker in the Paris audience and pelted him - with a shoe - as he ran from the room.

Marriage offers

Muntadar al-Zaidi's protest in Baghdad in December 2008 made him a hero in the eyes of many and sparked a spate of shoe-throwing attacks at politicians in several parts of the world.

As he hurled his shoes, Zaidi shouted at Mr Bush: "This is a goodbye kiss, you dog... from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."

He was convicted of assaulting a foreign leader, and served nine months of a 12-month prison sentence.

After his release in September, he said he was tortured while in jail.

At his appearance in Paris, organised by the Arab Press Club, he said he was receiving medical treatment in Geneva for broken teeth, fractures and other injuries he sustained.

Asked about the sums of money and even offers of marriage that he is said to have received, Zaidi said he told his family to refuse all gifts "until I find a way that they can be passed on to the people of Iraq", AP quoted him as saying.
 

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top