An Iraqi journalist known by the world as the shoe-thrower to US former president George W. Bush will be released next Monday, according to his lawyer.

Muntadhar al-Zeidi, 30, has been in custody since last December outburst, which occurred as President Bush was holding a joint news conference with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Defense attorney Karim al-Shujairi said al-Zeidi will be released on Sept. 14, three months early.

We have been informed officially about the court decision, al-Shujairi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

His release will be a victory for the free and honorable Iraqi media, he said.

Zeidi became a hero across Iraq and the Arab world.

He was initially sentenced to three years in prison after pleading not guilty to assaulting a foreign leader, and then the court reduced it to one year because the journalist had no prior criminal history.

Pledges of harems, money and healthcare are pouring into his employers, the al-Baghdadia television channel.

A new four-bedroom home and a new car have been offered by his former boss.

One Iraqi who lived in Morocco called to offer to send his daughter to be Muntadhar's wife, said Editor Abdul Hamid al-Saij.

After the event, we had callers from Palestine and many women asking to marry him, but we didn't take their names. Many of their reactions were emotional. We will see what happens when he is freed.

Iraq George W. Bush