The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush is recovering well from injuries allegedly sustained after being arrested last month, according to his brother who paid a rare visit to Muntazer al-Zaidi this morning.

Mr al-Zaidi, who is being held on his own in a cell in the green zone, said that the gesture was only meant to insult Mr Bush rather than any Iraqi official. Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, had been standing next to the US leader when the size 10 shoes were hurled during a press conference in Baghdad.

Speaking through his brother, he also urged his supporters to pray at two mosques in Baghdad for the release and welfare of all prisoners in US detention.

Maitham al-Zaidi met his brother for two hours in an officer’s room at the detention centre after spending weeks pushing for a visit. He had been allowed to see Mr al-Zaidi only once previously, just after his arrest on December 14.

“I told him that many people have held demonstrations demanding for your release. This raised his moral,” the brother, 28, told The Times.

The journalist had been unaware of the international frenzy generated by his decision to lob his footwear at the outgoing President. The sight of Mr Bush ducking the flying shoes has become an iconic image of the war, spawning computer games and other spinoffs.

Explaining why he threw his shoes – seen as a deep insult in Arab culture – Mr al-Zaidi told his brother: “What I did was because of my refusal and rejection of the occupation and the American policy in Iraq.”

Charged with assault against a foreign head of state, he is still awaiting trial after an initial court date of December 31 was delayed.

“I wish to go back to my life, my friends and my family,” he told his brother, a law student. “I did not commit a crime. I expressed my opinion and the opinion of all Iraqis.”

Medical records seen by Dhiyaa al-Saadi, his lawyer, allegedly show that Mr al-Zaidi suffered bleeding in the left eye, a cut nose, a missing tooth, and bruises on his upper and lower limbs, especially around the abdomen and the back, after his arrest.

“We demanded an assessment for the harm and disability that happened to his body due to this beating,” the lawyer told The Times.

Maitham al-Zaidi said that his brother, who was dressed in a beige tracksuit, now looked well, was visited daily by a doctor and had even gained weight, though he still had marks on his wrists from wearing plastic handcuffs.

The guards are looking after him. One even entered the journalist’s cell yesterday to sing Happy Birthday to him as he turned 30.

The brother said that he had been very sad before the meeting and went dressed in black, with his beard long. “When I saw him, my feelings changed. As soon as I got home I shaved my beard and put on brighter clothes.”

Asked whether he had a message for the next US President, who will be sworn in next week, the brother said: “Barack Obama should note how the policy of Mr Bush saw him end up with a pair of shoes on his retirement.”

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