Iraq

A Swiss lawyer working on behalf of the Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at US President George W Bush says his client will seek political asylum in Switzerland. Geneva-based lawyer Mauro Poggia says Muntadar al-Zaidi's life is in danger in Iraq, the Associated Press (AP) has reported. Al-Zaidi is currently in an Iraqi jail awaiting trial on charges of assaulting a foreign leader for his December...

Press freedom groups have called for a full "independent and exhaustive" inquiry into the shooting of an Iraqi woman journalist in Baghdad by American soldiers. Hadil Emad, 25, an editor with Biladi TV was shot and critically wounded by America soldiers as she was heading home in the al-Karrada district of Baghdad on January 1, 2009. A statement by the US military said that on New Year's Day US...

US troops shot and critically wounded a newly-wed Iraqi female television producer on New Year's Day after she failed to heed warnings from soldiers in Baghdad, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has reported quoting the military and her station. A US military statement said that Iraqi police and US soldiers had observed Hadil Emad, who had had failed to listen to warnings, behaving "erratically" before...

The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush will go on trial this month on charges that carry up to 15 years in jail, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has reported quoting a judge. Zaidi became a hero to many in the Arab world when he threw his shoes at Bush during the US president's surprise visit to Iraq on December 14. Investigating judge Dhiya al-Kenani rejected new...

The Iraqi journalist arrested for throwing his shoes at US President George W Bush has written to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki apologising over the incident. Muntadar al-Zaidi, who relatives and colleagues said acted because he "detested" Bush and America, is being held for possible trial for aggression against a foreign head of state during an official visit. "In his letter, he asks the...

Press freedom groups have called for the release of Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi who has been arrested for throwing his shoes at George W Bush at a Baghdad press conference during a surprise visit by the US president on Sunday. “We obviously regret that the journalist used this method of protest against the politics of the American president," Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said...

Protests are being held across the Middle East demainding release of the Iraqi journalist who is being held for throwing his shoes at US President George W Bush on Sunday. Huge crowds have been demonstrating in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities to demand TV reporter Muntadar al-Zaidi's release and echo his message to Bush, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported. Ordinary Iraqis are...

The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush was hit on the head with a rifle butt and had an arm broken in chaotic scenes when he was leapt on by Iraqi security officers, his brother said Tuesday. According to Reuters, TV reporter Muntadar al-Zaidi, who called Bush a "dog" at a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Sunday, was in a hospital in the...

Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets Monday to demand the release of a journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush, news agencies have reported. Journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi, who was abducted by Shiite militants last year, was being held by Iraqi security and interrogated about whether anybody paid him to throw his shoes at Bush during a press conference the previous day in...

The US military has refused to comply with the Iraqi central criminal court's order to release Reuters photographer Ibrahim Jassam. Maj Neal Fisher, a spokesman for detainee operations, said on December 10 that the US military was not bound by Iraqi court orders and would continue to hold Jassam on the grounds that he posed "a threat to Iraq security." Jassam was arrested at his home by US and...