’)The brother of Muntadar al-Zaidi, the journalist who hurled his shoes at President Bush in Iraq, says the reporter was beaten while in custody. Zaidi has a broken hand, broken ribs, internal bleeding and an eye injury, according to his older brother, Dargham. There are conflicting reports about his well-being.
The head of Iraq’s journalists’ union told the BBC that officials told him Mr Zaidi (l) was being treated well.
The union head, Mouyyad al-Lami, said he hoped to visit his colleague later.
An Iraqi official said Mr Zaidi had been handed over to the judicial authorities, according to the AFP news agency.
Earlier, Dargham al-Zaidi told the BBC’s Caroline Wyatt in Baghdad he believed his brother had been taken to a US military hospital in the Iraqi capital.
The shoes are being treated by Iraqis as a hot commodity.
According to unconfirmed newspaper reports, the former coach of the Iraqi national football team, Adnan Hamad, has offered $100,000 (£65,000) for the shoes, while a Saudi citizen has apparently offered $10m (£6.5m).
