Shoe-Thrower Is Called Defiant

Zaidi Was Tortured in Prison, His Brother Says After Visit

BAGHDAD, Dec. 22 -- Muntadar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who became an overnight sensation in the Middle East last week after throwing his shoes at President Bush during a news conference here, spent his first days behind bars believing his family, co-workers and tribe would forever shun him, the man's brother said.

The men guarding Zaidi, 29, at a detention center in the Green Zone forced him to watch a television channel run by Sunni extremists loyal to Saddam Hussein and told him that was the only news outlet in the world that was applauding his act, Oday al-Zaidi said Monday, a day after he was allowed to visit his brother.

"They told him, 'Your tribe and your family reject you,' " Oday al-Zaidi said. Pointing toward the television set tuned to the Al-Raee channel, the guards added: "This is the only channel that supports you."

In fact, his employer, al-Baghdadia channel, his relatives and people across the Arab world have praised him.

Oday al-Zaidi, 32, said his brother was gaunt, devastated and bruised -- but unrepentant.

" 'If I had the same opportunity again, I would throw my shoes,' " at President Bush, Oday al-Zaidi said, quoting his brother.

Oday al-Zaidi said his brother told him guards beat him with a metal pipe after the Dec. 14 incident. He said his brother had a bruised eye, is missing an upper canine tooth and has cigarette-burn marks on the backs of his ears.

"I didn't recognize him when I first saw him," Oday al-Zaidi said.

His account could not be independently verified. Government spokesmen did not answer their phones Monday. The investigative judge handling Muntadar al-Zaidi's case, who also could not be reached Monday, said last week that al-Zaidi appears to have been tortured while in custody. The judge opened an investigation into his treatment.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said the journalist admitted having carried out the stunt on behalf of a known insurgent. Maliki did not elaborate and the journalist's relatives denied the accusation.

The judge, Dhia al-Kinani, arranged the visit, Oday al-Zaidi said, under the condition that the journalist's relatives stop giving so many interviews about the case. Oday al-Zaidi said he decided to disregard the request after discovering that his brother had been tortured.

The shoe-throwing incident has stalled business in Iraq's squabble-prone parliament. Lawmakers this week postponed a hearing about a security agreement with Britain because emotions are still running high after a session last week erupted into a screaming match over the event.