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| Iraqi Journalist Pegs Shoe at George Bush | |
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| Topic Started: Dec 14 2008, 10:28 PM (711 Views) | |
| Sayf Udeen Ismaeel | Sep 22 2009, 03:35 AM Post #51 |
Icon by meagan_chelsea @ LJ
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Iraqi shoe thrower Muntazer al-Zaidi wants to sue George W Bush THE Iraqi journalist who was jailed for throwing his shoes at George W Bush says he wants to move to Switzerland and rally Iraqis to take the ex-US president to court. "I really want to go to Switzerland because it is a neutral country and because it is a country that did not support the occupation of Iraq," Muntazer al-Zaidi told TSR television in an interview broadcast overnight. "Switzerland hosts many international organisations, including some that fight for children, and Switzerland is a country that has a great democratic tradition. It is an example for the world," he said in an interview taped on Thursday from an undisclosed location. Mr Zaidi, who says he was tortured while in prison, was freed last week after being jailed for nine months for hurling the shoes at Mr Bush last December during a Baghdad press conference one month before he stood down as US president. His employer, Al-Baghdadia TV station in Baghdad, and a family member have said that Mr Zaidi had left Iraq for Syria and would travel on to Greece for medical treatment. Mr Zaidi told TSR that he wants to launch a "vast operation" to rally Iraqi families in order to lodge a legal complaint against Bush. Mr Bush and his collaborators should face trial in an international tribunal for "war crimes committed during the occupation of Iraq," he said. Mr Zaidi told the Swiss broadcaster that he was beaten with metal bars, tortured with electric cables and endured simulated drowning during his detention. A lawyer in Geneva said in February that he had lodged a political asylum application on Mr Zaidi's behalf. But one of Mr Zaidi's brothers had denied this at the time, calling it a "lie." The newsman was initially sentenced to three years for assaulting a foreign head of state, but had this reduced to one year on appeal. His sentence was cut further for good behaviour. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26108382-23109,00.html |
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| thelovablevagabond | Sep 22 2009, 10:36 AM Post #52 |
Exceptionally Pretentious and Opinionated
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Hmm... it would be an interesting claim. But, the international legal system is based entirely on consent of BOTH parties. America would have to consent to Bush being prosecuted in the ICC or ICJ, and even then, they would have a tenuous case at best. Still worth pursuing though. |
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| Temerit | Sep 23 2009, 02:23 AM Post #53 |
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Apparently a football player is going to jail for having a loaded pistol in a nightclub. He shot himself in the leg. |
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| Sayf Udeen Ismaeel | Oct 2 2009, 02:36 AM Post #54 |
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Icon by meagan_chelsea @ LJ
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Copy cat; Journalist throws a shoe: Shoe thrown at IMF chief A TURKISH journalist has thrown a shoe at IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in Istanbul ahead of key meetings on the economic crisis, as rallies set to bring thousands into the streets get under way. The man, who works for a small left-wing newspaper and is also reportedly a university student, shouted "IMF, get out of Turkey!" as he threw a white sports shoe and ran towards the IMF managing director overnight. Mr Strauss-Kahn dodged the shoe and remained calm throughout the incident. Shoe-throwing - a sign of disrespect in the Muslim world - was famously first used in Iraq last year by an Iraqi journalist against then-US president George W. Bush and there have been several copycat protests since. The Turkish protester, Selcuk Ozbek, who is the political editor of Birgun newspaper, was overpowered by security guards and dragged away from the venue where Mr Strauss-Kahn was giving a talk on the global economy to local students. Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay said Mr Ozbek had a press card, which had enabled him to gain access to the event. Turkish television reports said he was also a student at Anadolu university in northwest Turkey. Related Coverage * IMF chief says give peace a chanceNEWS.com.au, 23 Sep 2009 * Poor countries need extra $63bn - IMFNEWS.com.au, 18 Sep 2009 * IMF head says worst of recession overNEWS.com.au, 17 Sep 2009 * IMF to issue first ever bondsPerth Now, 2 Jul 2009 * France gives IMF extra $22bnNEWS.com.au, 24 Apr 2009 He was taken to a police station and later released, his newspaper said. A spokeswoman for Mr Strauss-Kahn said he would not press charges against the man. Outside Bilgi University where the incident took place, a 20-strong group of students chanted "IMF thief! IMF thief!" as a dozen armed riot police stood by. At a separate protest against the IMF and the World Bank in the city, about 1000 people rallied following calls from trade unions and leftist parties. The IMF and the World Bank will hold their annual meetings in Istanbul next week as the economic crisis continues to hit hard around the world. "Millions of starving people, millions of unemployed, there's your capitalist system!" the protesters at the rally chanted as they marched. "The day will come when the IMF will have to square with the people." The protesters, who later dispersed peacefully, marched behind a banner reading: "It is People that Count, Not Profits: IMF and World Bank Go Away!" About 10,000 police officers and 1600 security officials have been deployed to ensure there are no clashes in Istanbul, the scene of violent confrontations between protesters and security forces in the past. Turkish left-wing groups and anti-globalisation activists have called for protests in the run-up and during the annual meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, October 6 and 7. Five of the protests will be organised by a group called Resistanbul. IMF spokeswoman Caroline Atkinson shrugged off the shoe-throwing incident, saying: "The IMF needs to speak to people and listen to people even if not everyone agrees with us." Referring to Mr Strauss-Kahn, she said: "The managing director noted that the students were at least polite enough to wait until the end of the discussion.... We are happy that we had an open debate." As the shoe-thrower was being taken away, several protesters applauded and shouted slogans denouncing the IMF and its "collusion" with the Turkish government, which has been negotiating for an IMF loan since last year. \ "The IMF creates wars and makes people poor!" shouted one protester. The Birgun newspaper, which has a readership of under 10,000, said it had no link to the incident and Ozbek had been told he would have to pay a fine. Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi was jailed for nine months after hurling his shoes at Mr Bush last December during a Baghdad press conference. He was freed last month and said he was tortured while in prison. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26154542-23109,00.html |
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9:13 PM Nov 27
