BAGHDAD, (Reuters) – An Iraqi reporter who was  jailed for hurling his shoes at former U.S. President George W.  Bush has had his sentence slashed to one year from three, the  Iraqi Judiciary Council said yesterday.

Muntazer al-Zaidi, 30, shot to instant global fame in  December when he threw his shoes at the visiting president, who  was deeply unpopular in Iraq because of the 2003 U.S. invasion  and the years of insurgency and sectarian carnage it unleashed.

He had pleaded not guilty to the charge of assaulting a  visiting head of state and his family were devastated at what  they called an excessive initial penalty of three years in  prison. The shoes missed Bush, who ducked nimbly.