Baghdad, September 22: Shoe-throwing Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, a reporter with Cairo-based al-Baghdadia television network, is seeking political asylum in Switzerland.
“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,” al-Zaidi told TSR television in an interview broadcast on Monday.
“Switzerland hosts many international organizations, 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 added in the interview.
Zaidi meanwhile noted that he wants to launch a “vast operation” to coax Iraqis into taking former US president George W. Bush to court.
“Bush and his collaborators should face trial in an international tribunal for war crimes committed during the occupation of Iraq,” he said.
The 28-year-old Iraqi journalist grabbed the world spotlight after he stood up about 12 feet from Bush and shouted in Arabic, “This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!” He then threw a shoe at the former US President, who ducked and narrowly avoided it.
As stunned security agents and guards, officials and journalists watched, Zaidi then threw his other shoe, shouting in Arabic, “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!” That shoe also narrowly missed George W. Bush as Prime Minister Maliki stuck a hand in front of the president’s face to help shield him.
The reporter was released last week after nine months in jail. The newsman was initially sentenced to three years for assaulting a foreign head of state, but his sentence was cut to one year for good behavior.
Al-Zaidi maintains that he was abused and tortured while imprisoned.
—–Agencies