Chaos erupts over jailing of shoe-tosserSFlb

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Chaos erupted in Iraq’s parliament Wednesday over the jailing of a reporter who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush, with lawmakers loyal to a radical anti-American cleric demanding his freedom. The parliament speaker responded by threatening to resign.

Muntadhar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for an Iraqi-owned television station based in Cairo, Egypt, had been expected to appear Wednesday before an investigative judge at Iraq’s main court. Instead, the judge visited him in his jail cell and the family was told to return to the court in eight days, according to the journalist’s brother.

“That means my brother was severely beaten and they fear that his appearance could trigger anger at the court,” he said.

However, Iraqi officials and another brother have denied that the journalist suffered severe injuries after he was wrestled to the floor when he hurled one shoe and then the other from close range at Bush during a news conference Sunday in Baghdad. Bush deftly ducked out of the way both times.

Al-Zeidi could face two years imprisonment for insulting a foreign leader. When he threw the shoes, he shouted at Bush in Arabic, “This is your farewell kiss, you dog! This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq.”

His act of defiance won the obscure television reporter hero status in Iraq and throughout the Muslim world.

Parliament members screamed at one another Wednesday over allegations involving al-Zeidi’s case.