Reporter who threw shoe at Bush held in secrecy

BAGHDAD — More than a month has passed since an Iraqi television reporter threw his shoes at President Bush during a Baghdad news conference held to highlight what Bush called a successful U.S. military effort to pacify Iraq.

The journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, 29, who was immediately arrested, has been allowed only two visitors — and none since Dec. 21, according to those close to him. His family and his lawyer said they do not know where he is being held and are concerned about his well-being because they have not been allowed to speak with him by telephone.

On Thursday, Dhiyaa al-Saadi, al-Zaidi's lawyer, said he had recently seen medical records that were part of al-Zaidi's court file, which he said added credence to the journalist's claim that he had been beaten and tortured after his arrest by the security detail of the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Dec. 14.

Al-Saadi said two medical reports by government physicians within a week of al-Zaidi's arrest described bruising that covered the reporter's face and body, but was especially severe on his legs and arms; a missing tooth; a gash on the bridge of his nose; and what appeared to be a burn mark on his ear.

Al-Saadi said he had not been permitted to remove the records from the office of the judge investigating the case, so the existence of the documents could not be verified independently. But the account of al-Zaidi's wounds matches injuries described by one of al-Zaidi's brothers after his prison visit last month.

Uday al-Zaidi, 33, the brother, said Thursday that he feared that al-Zaidi, who faces up to seven years in prison for the criminal charge of aggression against a visiting head of state, might never emerge from government custody.

"I don't know his fate," said al-Zaidi. "I am sure they will kill him in prison."

Fadhil Mohammed Jawad, the legal adviser for al-Maliki, said Thursday that al-Zaidi had not been tortured and would receive a fair trial. "Judicially, Iraq is just and the law will handle this case with justice," Jawad said.

The shoe-hurling took place during a news conference with Bush and al-Maliki in Baghdad's heavily secured Green Zone. Al-Zaidi rose from his seat, threw a shoe at Bush and shouted, "This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!"

Al-Zaidi threw his second shoe at the president before security guards restrained him. Both shoes missed. As he was pulled from the room by the guards, al-Zaidi was seen being beaten.

In Iraq, throwing a shoe at someone is considered a grave insult. But Bush's unpopularity in Baghdad "made al-Zaidi an instant celebrity and folk hero, not only in Iraq but also elsewhere in the Arab world.

Al-Maliki was acutely embarrassed, however, and several days later, he said al-Zaidi had been put up to the act by a man the prime minister described as a "head cutter," apparently a reference to a member of the Sunni extremist group al-Qaida in Iraq, known for beheading people.

Al-Zaidi's family, however, has insisted the reporter has no ties to any political group and acted solely out of his opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Since his arrest, the reporter has been seen by only a few people, including one visit each by his lawyer and brother, both Dec. 21.

Subsequent visit requests have been rejected or ignored by the government and the judiciary, the men said.