Scenes of uproar have taken place in the Iraqi parliament as MPs discussed whether to free a journalist who threw his shoes at the US president George Bush, BBC reported.

The violent dispute has even forced the speaker to suspend parliament until Thursday.

It came as two of the journalist's brothers said he had appeared before a judge but not in public.

Muntadar al-Zaidi had been expected to attend a court hearing, but officials told his family that the judge had visited him in his prison cell.

His brother Dargham alleged that he must have been severely beaten and officials feared his appearance could trigger public anger.

"We waited until 10 in the morning but Muntadar did not show up," another brother, Uday told reporters.

He has even urged Iraqis to continue street protests as his brother's whereabouts were still unknown.

They spilled over into the Iraqi parliament, where MPs gathered Wednesday to discuss the withdrawal of all non-US troops from the country by June next year.

A group loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr interrupted the session demanding a debate on the fate of Mr Zaidi.

Iraqi officials have denied that he was severely beaten after the incident at a Baghdad news conference, during which he hurled shoes at US President Bush.

"This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," yelled Mr Zaidi as he threw the shoes.

Mr Zaidi has been remanded in custody while the judge investigates the case as part of complicated legal proceedings that could take months before a possible trial.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said on Tuesday that Mr Bush had no hard feelings about the incident.

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