The report (translated here) quotes the shoe thrower's lawyer, Mauro Poggia, as saying al-Zaidi fears for his safety in his Baghdad prison. He added:
"My client needs to make his request at the Swiss embassy in Baghdad when he is released. But we don't know when he will be able to do that because he still hasn't gone to trial."
Even if al-Zahid is released, he faces the inability to get a job, and possible other repercussions. Despite this, the shoe thrower has, however, been hailed as a hero by many. That still does not give al-Zahid much comfort.
Poggia said:
"Even if many Iraqis support his act, he is at the mercy of all kinds of extremists ... His life could become hell in his own country."
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, "this single man who has no children may very well work as a journalist at the United Nations," Poggia told the Tribune de Geneve.
Posted January 19th, 2009 by Michael Santo
