Freed Iraqi 'shoe thrower' claims he was tortured in prison

Muntadhar al-Zaidi told reporters after he was released that he was beaten with cables and pipes and tortured with electricity immediately after guards removed him from a news conference for hurling both shoes at Bush.

He said he was taken into another room and beaten even as the press conference continued.

"At the time that (Iraqi) Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on television that he could not sleep without being reassured on my fate ... I was being tortured in the worst ways, beaten with electric cables and iron bars," he was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying.

However he remained defiant about the incident that landed him in prison.

"I got my chance and I didn't miss it," he told reporters.

"I am not a hero and I admit that," he added. "I am a person with a stance. I saw my country burning."

Al-Zaidi, who was serving a one-year sentence after the jail-throwing incident on December 14, was given a "conditional discharge."

Under Iraqi law, a "conditional discharge" allows for the release of a prisoner after he serves three-quarters of his sentence, on good behavior.