Shoe thrower says he was beaten

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at President Bush intends to press charges against the people who he says beat him as he was taken into custody, said a member of the Iraqi parliament who's urging his release.

Bahaa al-Araji, a member of parliament from a party tied to anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi earlier Friday had presented his case to an Iraqi judge.

Al-Zeidi's outburst at a news conference that Bush held with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Sunday has sparked rallies all around the country, and now Sunni leaders are lionizing the Shiite journalist.

Facing charges of attacking a head of state, al-Zeidi could be sentenced to as many as 15 years in jail. Al-Zeidi's family wants him tried under a different law that would carry a maximum sentence of two years, his brother said.

Araji joined more than 70 protesters outside Baghdad's International Zone, a secure area that includes the parliament and al-Maliki's residence. Araji said al-Zeidi should appear in court no later than Thursday.

Iraqis in different cities have protested every day this week for al-Zeidi, and Friday's rally brought together a handful of politicians and a mix of protesters from several provinces outside Baghdad.

"Because of Muntadhar, I lift my head high. And to be frank, I haven't been proud to be an Iraqi for five long years of humiliation," said Sheikh Mohammed al Inizi, a leader in the Sons of Iraq movement, which brought Sunni tribes together with U.S. forces to fight terrorist cells.

"We should call him Muntadhar al-Iraqi — not Muntadhar al-Zeidi; all of Iraq is his tribe now," Inizi said.

Al-Zeidi's younger brother, Dhargham, 28, said the family would take part in the protests until the court allows them access to him.

"I affirm that his was a heroic act, and we as a family are proud of him. He was able to unite all of Iraq, all its Sunnis, Shiites, Arabs, Kurds, Turkomen and Christians."

Muntadhar al-Zeidi is a reporter for the Baghdadiya satellite television channel, which has stood by him and demanded his release. It also appointed a lawyer to defend al-Zeidi, but al-Zeidi's siblings said the government hasn't allowed the lawyer to meet him.

Also

London protest: Protesters dumped their shoes — including high heels, sneakers, and slippers — into a box in front of the U.S. Embassy at London's Grosvenor Square on Friday in a show of support for a jailed Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush during a news conference in Iraq.

Up to 50 demonstrators, some carrying shoes mounted on sticks, protested the arrest.

Marriage offer: The head of a large West Bank family wants to reward the Iraqi journalist who lobbed his shoes at President Bush by sending him a bride. Ahmad Salim Judeh says the family is willing to send one of their daughters to Iraq along with her dowry.