The old regime did it to the football team and now this:


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8256525.stm

The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former US President George
W Bush says he was tortured by senior government officials while in
jail.

Shortly after his release from nine months in a Baghdad prison,
Muntadar al-Zaidi demanded an apology - and said he would name the
officials later.

Iraqi officials told the BBC his claims should be investigated.

His protest last December made him a hero for many Arabs. He was
convicted of assaulting a foreign leader.

Initially, he was sentenced to three years in jail.

But he had the term reduced to 12 months on appeal and was released
three months early for good behaviour.

'Insurgent revolutionary'

	
MUNTADAR AL-ZAIDI
Muntadar al-Zaidi in a news conference after his release
Worked for Egypt-based broadcaster since 2005
Was kidnapped by gunmen while reporting in Baghdad in 2007
Detained by US troops for a night in 2008, his brother says, before
they freed him and apologised

In pictures: Fashion of shoe-ing
In the shoe thrower's footsteps
Profile: Shoe-throwing reporter

After his release on Tuesday he told journalists: "I am free again,
but my homeland is still a prison."

Reuters news agency reported he was slurring his speech because of a
missing tooth.

He went on to say he had suffered beatings, whippings, electric shocks
and simulated drowning at the hands of officials and guards.

"At the time that Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said on television that
he could not sleep without being reassured on my fate... I was being
tortured in the worst ways, beaten with electric cables and iron
bars," he said.

He demanded an apology from Mr Maliki and said he would name the
officials who tortured him in due course.

	
ANALYSIS
Hugh Sykes
Hugh Sykes, BBC News, Baghdad




Many Iraqis regard Muntadar al-Zaidi as a national hero - others think
he was unforgivably rude.

After leaving prison, Mr Zaidi went straight to al Baghdadiya, the TV
station he was working for at the news conference where he threw the
shoes.

Addressing his own news conference, he said he had been tortured in
jail.

A spokesman for the ministry of human rights told us that if he was
badly treated, it's likely that it happened while he was in custody
before his trial, and not in the prison where he spent the past nine
months, as it is a jail with a good reputation.
Shoe thrower welcomed home

He also said he feared US intelligence services regarded him as an
"insurgent revolutionary" and would "spare no effort" in a bid to kill
him.

"I want to warn all my relatives and people close to me that these
services will use all means to trap and try to kill and liquidate me
either physically, socially or professionally," he said.

His allegations of abuse mirror claims made earlier by his family, who
said he had been beaten, suffering a broken arm, broken ribs and
internal bleeding.

The Iraqi military earlier denied the allegations, but following
Zaidi's news conference Sami Al Askari, an adviser to Mr Maliki, said
his torture claims should be investigated.

Zaidi's family has been preparing to throw a party for him.

He has reportedly received offers of money, jobs and even marriage
from across the Arab world.

His relatives say he was offered a golden horse by the Emir of Qatar.

Zaidi shouts "this is the end" as he throws his shoes at President
Bush

When news of his release filtered through to his family's home in
Baghdad, there was an eruption of celebration, with women dancing and
singing.

'Goodbye kiss'

The shoe-throwing incident came during a joint news conference between
Mr Bush and Mr Maliki.

As he threw the shoes, Zaidi shouted: "This is a goodbye kiss from the
Iraqi people, dog.

"This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in
Iraq."

In an interview afterwards, Mr Bush insisted he did not harbour any
ill feeling about it.

"It was amusing - I've seen a lot of weird things during my
presidency, and this may rank up there as one of the weirdest," he
said.