Iraqi shoe-thrower: I was water-boarded in prison

In a series of allegations made after his release from a Baghdad prison, Zaidi claimed he was attacked with iron bars and even "waterboarded" - the torture technique which simulates drowning.He also alleged he had been electrocuted and whipped, and said that even now he feared for his life.His family said he is likely to travel to Greece this week for medical treatment and for his own protection."These fearsome services, the US intelligence services and its affiliated services, will spare no efforts to track me as an insurgent revolutionary," said Mr Zaidi at the offices of the al-Baghdadiya television station, where he works."And here I want to warn all my relatives and people close to me that these services will use all means to trap and try to kill and liquidate me either physically, socially or professionally."Mr Zaidi has become a hero to many Arabs after throwing his size ten shoes at Mr Bush during a press conference last December, shouting: "It is the farewell kiss, you dog."Mr Bush was on a final visit to Iraq before stepping down from office.The three-year jail term for assaulting a foreign head of state was reduced on appeal to one year, with a three-month remission for good conduct.Mr Zaidi returned to his home in the Shia suburb of Sadr City, where relatives had gathered with balloons, banners and sheep to slaughter in his honour.Scores of people, including local politicians and tribal leaders, joined them for the celebration. "They are very happy and they are singing and dancing," one of his brothers, Maytin, told The Daily Telegraph. "This is our tradition when someone gets released, we play music and dance."Another brother, Uday, said the journalist would be sleeping at an "undisclosed location" and would travel to Greece for treatment on Thursday."I congratulate the Iraqi people and the Muslim world and all free men across the world on the release of Muntazer," said Uday Zaidi. "Every time Bush turns a new page in his life he will find Muntazer's shoes waiting for him."The shoe-thrower said he was intending to name individual government officials and army officers allegedly responsible for his torture, and that he was demanding an apology from the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-MalikiNouri al-Maliki.He said he had been driven to his attack on Mr Bush by what he had experienced in Baghdad since the allied invasion of 2003, including an earlier arrest by US forces."The occupation invaded us under the pretext of liberation. It divided brothers, neighbours, it made our houses endless funeral tents and our streets cemeteries," he said."I felt humiliated to see my country burn and my people killed."He said he had no regrets. "For me it was a good response; what I wanted to do in throwing my shoes in the face of the criminal Bush was to express my rejection of his lies and of the occupation of my country."