CIA spared no effort to pursue me- Zaidi

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi who was released from jail earlier today after spending nine months in prison for throwing a pair of shoes at former U.S. President George W. Bush said the CIA had tried to kill him and called on Premier Nouri al-Maliki to apologize for “hiding the truth about his torture.” “The CIA has spared no effort to pursue and kill me…,” Zaidi said during a press conference held at the headquarters of al-Baghdadiya Channel, which was attended by Iraqi News. “While Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appeared on satellite channels to say he could not sleep until he made sure I was safe, I was being tortured with all kinds of torments,” Zaidi said. Zaidi said that he will reveal the names of those who were involved in his torture. Zaidi was given a conditional discharge by the Misdemeanors Court in al-Karkh, the chief of the Lawyers’ Syndicate and a lawyer from the defense team, Diyaa al-Saadi, told Iraqi News earlier today. Zaidi, a correspondent for al-Baghdadiya Channel, was initially sentenced to three years for assaulting a foreign head of state but had his jail time reduced because of his psychological state. SS (P) 1