Iraqi Shoe-Thrower

An Iraqi journalist who was jailed for throwing his shoes at US President George W. Bush on Monday launched a foundation to help Iraqi widows and orphans. "I am making an appeal on behalf of my people and I announce the launch of a humanitarian foundation for my people," Muntazer al-Zaidi told journalists in Geneva. "I am planning to help orphans, widows and the deported in priority. We want to build hospitals, medical centres, a centre to replace limbs of people handicapped by this war," he added. A website has been created for the Al Zaidi Foundation, which already has a capital of 50,000 ... Read Full Story

The Iraqi journalist who was jailed for throwing his shoes at George W. Bush said in an interview that he wants to move to Switzerland and rally Iraqis to take the ex-US president to court. "I really want to go to Switzerland because it is a neutral country and because it is a country that did not support the occupation of Iraq," Muntazer al-Zaidi told TSR television in an interview broadcast Monday. "Switzerland hosts many international organisations, including some that fight for children, and Switzerland is a country that has a great democratic tradition. It is an example for the world," he said in ... Read Full Story

The Iraqi television reporter who threw his shoes at former President George W. Bush in one of the more bizarre episodes of the Iraq war might use his new iconic status in Iraq to promote humanitarian causes, his family said. The reporter, Muntadhar al-Zeidi, is to be released Monday after nine months in prison. He will be greeted by a nation where many feel his act of protest encapsulated their own bitterness over the war and U.S. occupation. Parties and music are planned at his family's home in Baghdad, where his brother was hanging posters of him on Thursday. But the government of Prime ... Read Full Story

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi court on Monday ordered the release from jail of a reporter who attained worldwide fame when he hurled his shoes at then U.S. President George W. Bush last December, his lawyer said. Once an obscure TV reporter, Muntazer al-Zaidi had been expected to walk free on Monday, but a judge asked for additional documents before ordering his release. Under Iraqi penal procedures, freed prisoners can only leave prison a day after a court ruling, so Zaidi will go home on Tuesday. Millions of people across the world saw online or TV footage of Zaidi throwing his shoes at Bush ... Read Full Story

The Iraqi consulate in Athens on Thursday retracted its confirmation that the journalist jailed for throwing his shoes at George W. Bush had arrived in Greece, saying it was unaware of his whereabouts. TV reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi, who says he was tortured while in prison, was freed on Tuesday after being jailed for hurling the shoes at Bush last December during a Baghdad press conference shortly before he stood down as US president. The consulate had confirmed Zaidi's arrival in Greece but said later Thursday that this was not the case, blaming language problems. "We have no information," consul Ahmed Nadiim told AFP, adding ... Read Full Story