Muntazer al-Zaidi won global fame when his footwear whizzed past Bush's head on December 14 as the then president was making a farewell visit to Iraq before leaving the White House.

The reporter faces up to 15 years in prison if he is found guilty of assaulting a foreign leader, the charge levelled against him by prosecutors for the dramatic gesture that was hailed across the Arab world.

Zaidi arrived in the courtroom wearing an Iraqi-flag tied round his neck as a scarf, khaki-coloured jacket and a black shirt.

High security measures were in place, with cars being checked and all electronic equipment being taken off people heading into the hearing.

“It is a historic test for the Iraqi justice system,” one of the journalist's brothers, Uday Zaidi, said outside the court.