Baghdad - Iraqi TV reporter Montazer al-Zaidi, who famously threw his shoes at US President George W Bush, will face the Iraqi Central Criminal Court on February
19, his brother told Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa on Monday.

Maitham al-Zaidi told dpa that his brother is in a good health and that he is ready for the trial.

"All the family will attend the trial to support Montazer. We hope it will be a fair trial."

Maitham said that the trial, which was originally due in December 31, will be open for the press.

Al-Zaidi, a 29-year-old reporter for the Cairo-based Baghdadia channel is expected to face three to 15 years behind bars if found guilty of "aggression against a president," Iraqi legal expert Tariq Harb told dpa.

Since his arrest in December 14, Al-Zaidi's defense committee has argued that Montazer's action should be protected by his constitutional right to freedom of expression.

They argued that Montazer expressed his rejection of the US occupation of Iraq and mistreatment of Iraqis.

"It is all over. Montazer will become the first journalist in Iraq's history to face such a trial," Harb told dpa. (Dpa)