The Iraqi reporter who hurled his shoes at then-President George W. Bush was released from prison Tuesday, saying he was tortured in jail and fears for his life.
“I was tortured with electric shocks, beaten with cables,” Muntazer al-Zaidi told reporters shortly after his release.
He also said he endured waterboarding, the controversial simulated-drowning technique some interrogators used on terror suspects.
“I will name later those involved in torturing me, among them high ranking officials in the government and the Army,” Zaidi said.
Zaidi, 30, added that he fears American intelligence agencies would like to see him dead.
Zaidi had been behind bars since he shouted, “It is the farewell kiss, you dog,” at Bush last Dec. 14,
before throwing his size 10s.
Bush ducked the flying footwear and laughed off the attack. The incident caused massive embarrassment to both him and the Iraqi prime minister, who were at a press conference in Baghdad on what was Bush’s
farewell visit to Iraq prior to Barack Obama taking office.
Many viewers applauded Zaidi’s bravery, and he was heralded as a cult hero in the Middle East. Venezuela‘s anti-American President Hugo Chavez called him courageous. Arab fathers have offered Muntazer their daughters as brides.
Zaidi was sentenced to three years for the attack, but his sentence was reduced to one year for good behavior.
He remained unrepentant.
“For me, it was a good response,” he said of the shoe-toss. “What I wanted to do in throwing my shoes in the face of the criminal Bush was to express my rejection of his lies and of the occupation of my country.
“I am now free but my country is still captive. I am not a hero, but I have attitude and opinions. I feel humiliated to see my country suffer, my Baghdad burning, and my people killed.”
Slurring his speech because of a missing tooth, Zaidi demanded an apology from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for his treatment.
The Iraqi government barred his the family from meeting him at the prison gates when he was released and instead escorted him to his family’s Baghdad home.
Zaidi later arrived at the Al-Baghdadiya TV station where he works wrapped in an Iraqi flag and surrounded by guards. Station staff slaughtered at least three sheep in his honor.
“Thanks be to God that Muntazer has seen the light of day,” his brother Uday said. “I wish Bush could see our happiness. When President Bush looks back and turns the pages of his life, he will see the shoes of Muntazer al Zaidi on every page.”
Zaidi’s boss atAl-Baghdadia, a small, privately-owned Cairo-based station, promised the previously little-known reporter a new home as a reward. He’s rumored to have job offers from bigger Arab networks.
Zaidi said he wants to help Iraqi war victims.
“I am going to concentrate on humanitarian work and will occupy myself with widows and orphans,” he said.
