The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former U.S. President George W. Bush will appear at an Iraqi court on Feb. 19, a judicial official said on Sunday.

Muntadhar al-Zaidi, a reporter of Cairo-based Baghdadia Iraqi television, will stand trial on charge of assaulting a foreign leader, Abdula Sattar al-Beirqdar, spokesman of the Higher Judicial Council, told reporters.

Zaidi, 29, has been in custody after he threw his shoes at Bush during a joint statement with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Dec. 14, 2008.

Late on December, Zaidi was supposed to face an Iraqi court, but his defense team head Diyaa al-Saadi won a postponement after he presented an impugn for the charges against his client.

Saadi wanted to reduce the charge of "assaulting a foreign head of a state during official visit" to simply an insult to Bush.

However, the spokesman confirmed that the assault charge, which is an offense that carries a prison term of between five to 15 years under Iraqi law, will stand.

(Xinhua News Agency February 9, 2009)