Transcript: those Bush shoe jokes in full | The ultimate insult

The Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at President Bush during his farewell visit to Baghdad was hailed a hero in the Arab world today as thousands marched to demand his release.

Muntazer al-Zaidi tore off his shoes and flung them at Mr Bush as he stood beside Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, during a press conference in Baghdad's Green Zone yesterday.

"This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog. This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq," he shouted before being overpowered by security guards and bundled out of the room.

Mr Bush tried to laugh off the row - he told reporters aboard Air Force One last night that he had seen his assailant's "sole" and was collecting other shoe jokes. But al-Zaidi's friends and employers expressed concern for his fate given the embarrassment his action had caused the Government.

Al-Zaidi worked for the independent Iraqi television station al-Baghdadia, which is based in Cairo. Colleagues said that he "detested America" and had been planning such an attack for months.

The Iraqi government however branded al-Zaidi’s actions as “shameful” and demanded an apology from his Cairo-based employer, which in turn called for his immediate release from custody.

“Al-Baghdadia television demands that the Iraqi authorities immediately release their stringer Muntazer al-Zaidi, in line with the democracy and freedom of expression that the American authorities promised the Iraqi people,” it said in a statement. “Any measures against Muntazer will be considered the acts of a dictatorial regime."

The journalist's exact whereabouts were unclear, although one Iraqi official said that he was being held for questioning at Mr al-Maliki's residence, his shoes having been kept as evidence.

Throwing shoes is particularly insulting in the Middle East, as was shown when crowds of Iraqis used their shoes to whack a toppled statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad after the 2003 invasion.

Al-Zaidi is a Shia Muslim in his late 20s who was kidnapped by an unknown insurgent group in November 2007 and held for more than two days. He said at the time that the kidnappers had beaten him until he lost consciousness, and used his necktie to blindfold him and his shoelaces to tie his hands together.

Among those leaping up to support al-Zaidi today was Khalil al-Dulaimi, Saddam's former lawyer, who said he was forming a team to defend the journalist and that around 200 lawyers, including Americans, had offered their services for free. “It was the least thing for an Iraqi to do to Bush, the tyrant criminal who has killed two million people in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said.

There were demonstrations in support of al-Zaidi in Sadr City, the bastion of the radical anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, where protesters threw shoes at passing US military vehicles. The footwear was also flying In the holy Shia city of Najaf, where crowds chanted “Down with America".

“All US soldiers who have used their shoes to humiliate Iraqis should be brought to justice, along with their US superiors, including Bush,” said Ali Qeisi, head of a Jordan-based Iraqi rights group.

“The flying shoe speaks more for Arab public opinion than all the despots/puppets that Bush meets with during his travels in the Middle East,” said Asad Abu Khalil, a popular Lebanese-American blogger and professor at Stanislaus University in California on his website at angryarab.blogspot.com.

An Iraqi lawyer said that al-Zaidi risked a miminum of two years in prison if he is prosecuted for insulting a visiting head of state, but could face a 15-year term if he is charged with attempted murder.

In Cairo, Muzhir al-Khafaji, programming director for the television channel, described Zaidi as a“proud Arab and an open-minded man,” saying he had worked at Al-Baghdadia for three years. “We fear for his safety,” he said.

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