Iraqi shoe-thrower targeted with shoe
By IANSWednesday, December 2, 2009
LONDON - The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former US president George Bush to spark off a global trend was Tuesday given a taste of his own medicine.
Muntazer al-Zaidi was speaking at a press conference in Paris to promote his campaign for Iraq war victims when a man threw a shoe at him.
Zaidi, who ducked in time, said later: “He stole my technique,” The Guardian reported in its online edition. The attacker was reported to be an exiled Iraqi journalist who spoke in defence of US policy and accused Zaidi of siding with a dictatorship.
Zaidi’s brother, Maithan, then chased the attacker and pelted him - with a shoe - as he left the room.
Zaidi became a hero in Iraq last year when he hurled his shoes at Bush during a press conference while shouting: “This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog.”
Like Zaidi, Bush too ducked just in time to escape the shoes.
Zaidi, who was released in September after nine months in prison, set off a global trend in shoe-throwing, with copy-cat protest actions taking place in New Delhi and Cambridge.
