Baghdad - An Iraqi court on Tuesday reduced the sentence passed against the journalist who threw his shoes at former US president George W Bush, the journalist's brother said.

The Iraqi Court of Cassation on Tuesday reduced from three years to one year the prison sentence passed by a previous court's March 12 decision on Muntadher al-Zaidi for throwing his shoes at Bush at a December 14 press conference in Baghdad, his brother told the German Press Agency dpa on Tuesday.

"We are pleased with the court's decision," al-Zaidi's brother Maitham told dpa. "This was the right decision."

"We have visited the prison three times since the sentence, and have found (Muntadher) in good health," he added.

Al-Zaidi, a 30-year-old journalist with the satellite television station al-Baghdadiya, became a hero in Iraq and the Arab world when he threw his shoes at Bush during a December 14 press conference and shouted, "This is a parting gift, you dog." (dpa)