December 20, 2008	Saturday	Zilhaj 21, 1429

BAGHDAD, Dec 19: The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush was beaten up after the incident and had bruises on his face and around his eyes, the judge in the case said on Friday.

Judge Dhia Al-Kinani, the magistrate investigating the incident, said the court had filed a complaint on behalf of journalist Muntazer Al-Zeidi, and added that court officials “will watch the footage to identify those who have beaten him”.

Al-Zeidi was wrestled to the ground after throwing his shoes during a Sunday news conference by Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, and there had been conflicting claims on his condition since then. One of his brothers claimed he was harshly beaten, but another said he seemed to be in good condition.

Al-Zeidi remained in custody and was expected to eventually face charges of insulting a foreign leader.

“He was beaten and we filed a case for that,” Judge Dhia al-Kinani told The Associated Press. “Al-Zeidi did not raise a complaint and he can drop this case if he wants to.”

Al-Kinani also confirmed that the journalist had written a letter of apology to Al-Maliki. Under the Iraqi constitution, the president can grant pardons that are requested by the prime minister.

A spokesman for Al-Maliki said on Thursday that the letter contained a specific pardon request. But Al-Zeidi’s brother Dhargham told The AP that he suspected the letter was a forgery.

The incident, a vivid demonstration of Iraqis’ dismay over the US-led invasion and occupation of the country for more than five years, turned Al-Zeidi into an instant folk hero. Thousands of Iraqis have demonstrated for his release.

The judge said the investigation would be completed and sent to the criminal court on Sunday, after which a court date would be set within seven to 10 days.

Al-Zeidi’s action was broadcast repeatedly on television stations around the world. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack suggested that worldwide attention to the shoe-tossing was overblown.

“We would hope that the fact of a US president standing next to a freely elected prime minister of Iraq who just happens to be Shia, who is governing in a multi-confessional, multiethnic democracy in the heart of the Middle East, is not overshadowed by one incident like this,” McCormack told reporters in Washington.

McCormack said he believed that in the coming years “the fact of the president making that visit under those circumstances will probably overshadow any memory of this particular gentleman and what he did.”—AP