BAGHDAD - IRAQI Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Sunday that it is for the courts to determine what action if any should be taken against the journalist who thew his shoes at US President George W. Bush.

'I say that the law has to take its natural course in the case of Muntazer al-Zaidi even if it leads to his release,' the government press office quoted Maliki as saying.

'A journalist should not stop expressing himself in utmost freedom and frankness, but in doing so should not overstep the boundaries of journalistic ethics,' he added.

Zaidi grabbed the world spotlight when he threw his shoes at Mr Bush and called him a dog during a farewell visit to Iraq last Sunday by the US leader who ordered the 2003 invasion.

His family demonstrated for a third day on Sunday to press for his release from custody.

'Our demands are known, and they are to release our brother without conditions, and to tell us his health situation and prosecute the person who attacked him,' Zaidi's brother, Durgham, said.

Durgham had charged that his brother had suffered a broken arm and ribs at the hands of the Iraqi security forces but acknowledged on Saturday that he had only sustained cuts while being taken into custody after his protest.

The journalist stands accused of 'aggression against a foreign head of state during an official visit,' an offence that carries a prison term of between five and 15 years under Iraqi law.

But the court could convict him of the lesser charge of an 'attempted aggression' which carries a prison term of one to five years. -- AFP