Following the incident, The New York Times reported that Al-Zaidi was embraced around the Arab world.[1] Al-Zaidi found support from his employer, Awn Hussain Al Khashlok,[16] thousands of protesters in Iraq,[15][3] some Iraqi politicians,[4][5] people in Syria,[15] a charity in Libya,[6] and from "around 200 lawyers" including some U.S. citizens.[7] Al-Zaidi's action was criticised by the government of Nouri al-Maliki.[8] After the incident the office of Nouri al-Maliki criticised al-Zaidi's action and "demanded" an on-air apology from Al-Baghdadia TV.[21] Al-Baghdadia TV issued a statement demanding al-Zaidi's release:[16]