The family of an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W. Bush demonstrated for a second day on Saturday to demand his release from custody. Muntazer al-Zaidi's brother, Durgham, told AFP that the family intended to continue its protest in a park near the central Baghdad government compound where he is being held around the clock until he is freed.
"We will stay here until he is released even if the military tries to remove us," Durgham said. Iraqi troops halted a previous attempt by the family to hold an overnight sit-in on Friday. Durgham said that the family had been able to talk to Muntazer on the telephone and that he had allayed their previous fears about his treatment.
"He is in good health and does not have a broken arm. He just has some blows to his face," he said. Durgham had said on Monday that his brother had sustained a broken arm and ribs after being hit by Iraqi security forces. Muntazer's investigating judge Dhiya al-Kenani said on Thursday that the 29-year-old television reporter was in good health and being well treated.
"He was wounded during his arrest and not afterwards. He has not been beaten during his interrogation," the judge said, adding that, "a doctor is examining him everyday and he has medicine at his disposal." Zaidi grabbed the world spotlight when he threw his shoes at Bush and called him a dog during a farewell visit to Iraq last Sunday by the US leader who ordered the invasion of the country in 2003.
The journalist stands accused of "aggression against a foreign head of state during an official visit," an offence that carries a prison term of between five and 15 years under Iraqi law. But the court could convict him of the lesser charge of an "attempted aggression" which carries a prison term of one to five years. The investigating magistrate said that he expected to complete his work by Saturday or Sunday and then hand over the case to the high criminal court.