World

Shoe Thrower Poised for Hero's Welcome

By Brian Montopoli

September 14, 2009 / 4:52 PM EDT / CBS News

On Tuesday, Muntazer al-Zaidi – better known as the shoe thrower – is expected to be released from a Baghdad prison. (He was supposed to be released today, but the Associated Press reports there were delays in processing his paperwork.)

Al-Zaidi, of course, is the journalist who threw a pair of shoes, one at a time, at then-President George W. Bush last December. "This is your farewell kiss, you dog!," he yelled at a press conference. "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq." The memorable video is at left.

The incident turned the previously unheralded reporter into a hero among many in the the Arab world, where Mr. Bush was exceedingly unpopular. His expected release from prison is now being widely celebrated.

According to the Telegraph, Al-Zaidi "has been offered cars, money, a penthouse apartment by the television station for which he worked, and presents ranging from the eccentric, such as a statue of a golden horse, to the traditional, such as a wife."

The Guardian, which says "Zaidi has won the adulation of millions, who believe his act of defiance did what their leaders had been too cowed to do," reports that "pictures of the president ducking have been etched onto walls across Baghdad, made into T-shirts in Egypt, and appeared in children's games in Turkey."

(AP)

"After the event, we had callers from Palestine and many women asking to marry him, but we didn't take their names," Al-Zaidi's editor told the newspaper.

A Palestinian man said he was prepared to offer the journalist "a bride loaded with gold" – one of his daughters, along with a significant amount of money. One Bahraini businessman, the Gulf Daily News reported, offered to drive his Mercedes limousine to Baghdad and give it to Al-Zaidi.

Al-Zaidi was originally sentenced to three years, but the sentence was eventually reduced to one year. He is now poised to get out in nine months, thanks to good behavior. His family waited more than five hours for his release today outside the Baghdad prison before being informed that they would have to wait a day; two of his brothers, the AP reports, pledged a sit-in until he is released.

A party had been planned for the 30-year-old Al-Saidi's return.

"Men performed tribal dances and women sang and ululated," the AP reports. "Children carried balloons, Iraqi flags and posters bearing al-Zeidi's image. Everyone dressed for a special occasion." (See photo above. The caption on the poster reads, "Release the one who regained Iraqis dignity.")