And out of the country....
Related: Occupation Iraq: All Hail the Hero!
"US, Iraqi forces kill insurgent firing at American helicopter; Gun battle near Mosul reflects conflicts in North" by David Rising, Associated Press | September 15, 2009
Relatives of Iraqi reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi awaited his release at a street in Baghdad. (Saad Shalash/ Reuters)
.... Also yesterday, the expected release of the Iraqi television reporter jailed for throwing his shoes at former President George W. Bush was postponed a day, two of his brothers said, citing delays in processing his paperwork.
And have you ever seen so much love in a photograph?
Of course, he'll beat her when he gets home, right, Zionist AmeriKan MSM?
"Iraqi shoe thrower says he was tortured in jail; Freed, fearing for life, he’ll flee, family says" by Marc Santora, New York Times | September 16, 2009
BAGHDAD - Hours after his release from prison, the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at former President George W. Bush said that he had been tortured while in jail, and his family said that he would flee Iraq, fearing for his life.
“Here I am free, and my country is still captured,’’ said the journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, during a news conference yesterday at the television station where he had worked. He said that he was beaten with pipes and steel cables, and that he received electric shocks while in custody. He added that there were many who would like to see him dead, including members of unidentified American intelligence agencies.
Well, if he was tortured you can't believe that, right?
And if he wasn't....
Gee, either way AmeriKa and its Iraq puppets come off looking bad, huh?
Zaidi did not take questions after his brief remarks, but family members said he would travel to Greece, where he would receive medical and psychological care. “He is going to flee,’’ said his brother, Uday al-Zaidi. Part of the reason Zaidi fears for his life, his brother said, is that he plans to identify the people who played a role in his mistreatment, including high-ranking security officials.
Watch your back and stay off airplanes.
Muntander al-Zaidi said that after he was arrested after hurling his shoes at Bush at a December news conference, he was shackled, soaked in water, and kept in a place with no heat despite the cold night. Ali al-Mosawi, an adviser to Prime Minister Nouri Kamal al-Maliki, said the accusations should be viewed skeptically, since Zaidi had just been released from prison. He did not address the specific charges.
I already elaborated above on that, so.... can't believe him why?
In a room packed with reporters and family members, Zaidi described the anger and helplessness he experienced after the American invasion in 2003, the suffering of widows and orphans he witnessed, and why he felt compelled to wage a protest.
Yes, HE is a HERO to all those here in AmeriKa who have failed to stop this obscene and abominable slaughter!
“I saw the chance and I seized it,’’ he said. “If those who blamed me knew how many destroyed houses I walked over with those shoes that I threw; and how many times those shoes mixed with the blood of the innocent; and how many times those shoes went into homes where the honor of those who lived there was disgraced, then it was probably the proper response.’’
Security was tight around the studio where Zaidi spoke, with dozens of police officers and other armed escorts cordoning off much of the neighborhood. On the streets, his supporters banged drums, chanted his name, and slaughtered sheep in his honor.
Like we would have a party welcoming back someone we loved, 'murkns!
The Iraqi government, which was embarrassed by the shoe-throwing episode, played down Zaidi’s release, barring the family from meeting him at the prison gates and quietly escorting him to his family’s residence in the capital. Given Zaidi’s cult hero status, his charges that he was mistreated could resonate widely.
Yeah, anyone who believes in justice, no matter how metaphorical, is part of a cult.
Zaidi, 30, was originally sentenced to three years in prison, but this spring that was reduced to a one-year jail term. He was released after nine months for good behavior, court officials said.
Zaidi was a journalist for an independent Iraqi TV station, Al-Baghdadiya, when he attended the news conference with Bush.
Related: Occupation Iraq: Government Hit Squad Killed Reporters
Occupation Iraq: Maliki Shuts Down News Media
Ah, freedom!
The incident, which was shown repeatedly on television programs across the globe, seemed to crystallize for many the deep anger felt toward the United States over its invasion and occupation of Iraq. From Libya, where he was awarded a Medal of Freedom, to Syria, where banners of praise were unfurled on street corners, Zaidi has been lionized....
Do NOT FORGET HERE, MSM!!!
Maliki initially said that he believed Zaidi had been put up to the act by a “head cutter,’’ apparently referring to Sunni insurgents tied to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, which frequently beheaded their enemies. Zaidi said that he had no ties to political groups and that he was acting purely out of rage at what the American occupation had cost Iraq.
F***ing governments are shameless.
Even after nine months in jail, Zaidi did not back down from his denunciation of Bush and the war. “I was roaming throughout the past years of the war in our scorched land and I was seeing with my own eyes the pains of the victims and hearing the weeping of the grieving women and orphans,’’ he said. “Shame was chasing me, like an ugly name for my helplessness.’’
Through clenched teeth, Zaidi promised himself that if the chance came he would avenge those victims.
I often type that way.
And the WORLD THANKS YOU!
--more--"
Also see: Occupation Iraq: Abu Ghraib Uprising
That's where Mr. Zaidi was held, wasn't it?
Related: The Story of My Shoe
