Family of Iraqi shoe thrower says he remains in isolation

More than a month has passed since an Iraqi television reporter threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during a news conference held to highlight what Bush called a successful U.S. military effort to pacify Iraq. The journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, 29, who was immediately arrested, has been allowed only two visitors - and none since Dec. 21, according to those close to him. His family and his lawyer say they do not know where he is being held and are gravely concerned about him. On Wednesday, Dhiyaa al-Saadi, Zaidi's lawyer, said he had recently seen medical records that were part of Zaidi's court file that added credence to the journalist's claim that he had been beaten and tortured after his arrest on Dec. 14 by the security detail of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. Saadi said two separate medical reports conducted by government physicians within a week of Zaidi's arrest described bruising that covered the reporter's face and body but was especially severe on his legs and arms; a missing tooth; a gash on the bridge of his nose; and what appeared to be a burn mark on his ear. Saadi said he had not been permitted to remove the records from the office of the judge investigating the case, so the existence of the documents could not be verified independently. But the account of Zaidi's wounds matches injuries described by Zaidi's brother after his prison visit last month. Uday al-Zaidi, 33, said Wednesday that he feared that his brother, who faces up to seven years in prison, might not emerge from government custody. But Fadhil Mohammed Jwad, the legal adviser for Maliki, said Wednesday that Zaidi had not been tortured and would receive a fair trial. A trial date had been scheduled for Dec. 31, but it was delayed at the request of his lawyer, who has challenged the basis of the charge. The shoe episode took place Dec. 14 during a televised news conference with Bush and Maliki in the Green Zone in Baghdad. Zaidi rose from his seat, threw a shoe at Bush and shouted: "This is a gift from the Iraqis. This is the farewell kiss, you dog!" Zaidi threw his second shoe at Bush before he was restrained. Both shoes missed. As he was pulled from the room by the prime minister's guards, Zaidi was seen being beaten. In Iraq, throwing a shoe at someone is a grave insult. Several days later, Maliki said Zaidi had been put up to the act by a man the prime minister described as a "head cutter" - an apparent reference to a member of the Sunni extremist group Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, which is known for beheading people. Zaidi's family, however, has insisted the reporter has no ties to a political group and acted solely out of his opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Since his arrest, the reporter has been seen by only a few people, including one visit each by his lawyer and brother. Each visit occurred Dec. 21, they said. Subsequent requests have been rejected or ignored by the government and the judiciary, the men said. It remains unclear who is responsible for clearing visits to Zaidi. Jwad, the prime minister's legal adviser, said such matters were handled by the investigating judge and the suspect's lawyer, but a spokesman for the judge said the issue was one reserved "for the executive branch." During a telephone interview, Abdul Sattar al-Biriqdar, the spokesman for the High Judicial Council, which administers Iraq's court system, said Dhiyaa al-Kinani, the investigating judge, had not been aware that Zaidi's lawyer and family members had repeatedly sought to visit Zaidi in prison. At first, Biriqdar denied knowing where Zaidi was being held, but later said he was being kept at an Iraqi detention center in the Green Zone that is operated by the Baghdad Brigade, a military unit that reports directly to the prime minister's office. Biriqdar said anyone who sought to see Zaidi would be permitted to do so. "No one is preventing you from visiting him," he said. But during a recent visit to the complex, an Iraqi Army soldier guarding the facility told a reporter who requested a visit with Zaidi to leave immediately and said it was "dangerous" to seek to meet Zaidi. The soldier, who did not identify himself, said he did not know whether Zaidi was being held at the facility or not. On Wednesday, an e-mail request sent to Maliki requesting a visit with Zaidi received no reply. Biriqdar, the judicial spokesman, said Zaidi had not told the investigating judge about being tortured or beaten while in custody and that during a meeting with Zaidi last month the judge had seen no signs of physical abuse. "The investigating judge said he had not noticed if he had been tortured or beaten," Biriqdar said. "Muntader did not say he was beaten and did not ask to be referred to a medical committee." But a few days after that meeting, Zaidi's lawyer and his brother said during their visits that it had been clear that Zaidi had been beaten. Riyadh Mohammed, Alissa J. Rubin, Atheer Kakan and Souadad al-Salhy contributed reporting.