View Full Version : California man linked to anti-Islam film denies violating probation
(Reuters) - A California man linked to an anti-Islam film that stoked violent protests in the Muslim world denied on Wednesday he had violated his probation on a fraud conviction, and was sent back to jail until his case can be heard on its merits.The Egyptian-born man, who has been known publicly as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, denied in court committing eight probation violations, including lying to officials over the scope his role in the film and using aliases.
A crudely made 13-minute video attributed to the man, who appeared in court on Wednesday under the name Mark Basseley Youssef, was filmed in California and circulated online under several titles including "Innocence of Muslims."
It portrays the Prophet Mohammad as a fool and a sexual deviant, and sparked a torrent of anti-American unrest in Arab and Muslim countries last month. The violence coincided with a separate attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.
As outrage against the film mounted, U.S. authorities said they were not investigating the film itself.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/10/us-usa-film-protests-court-idUSBRE8991L220121010
Note: Wed Oct 10, 2012 5:30pm EDT
Cybermat47
10-10-12, 07:03 PM
Please give him 20-40 years!
Just a scape-goat, this matter is laughable at best,, got bigger fish to fry, white house is getting its lies in to order. It was just bad intel,,, hell it worked for Bush,..
Please give him 20-40 years!
For what? Probation violation or because he made a video that pissed off a bunch of people?
Skybird
10-10-12, 08:53 PM
If there was a case of probation violation, he must face the legal consequence for it. For it - and not for anything more. Else if bad movie making would become a punishable crime, than most of Hollywood would end up in prison.
August is right, if they clapped this guy up, they'd have to lock up the Westboro lot too, although that wouldn't be a great loss.
You apply freedom of speech, you have to apply it across the board, from those insulting a foreign religion, to those calling for the death of their own countries soldiers, to those calling for the president to be killed.
I do wonder if we'd have that kind of tolerance here in the UK, given all the controversy over Twitter in recent months. :hmmm:
Can a video, any video not necessarily this one, be considered a hate crime? If so what would be the requirements for such?
Cybermat47
10-10-12, 11:01 PM
For what? Probation violation or because he made a video that pissed off a bunch of people?
Because he made a video that pissed off a lot of people, who were so pissed off that they killed four people, and had riots in several major cities that wounded yet more people.
That's why.
Cybermat47
10-10-12, 11:02 PM
August is right, if they clapped this guy up, they'd have to lock up the Westboro lot too, although that wouldn't be a great loss.
So do it.
Because he made a video that pissed off a lot of people, who were so pissed off that they killed four people, and had riots in several major cities that wounded yet more people.
That's why.
So in other words all your enemies have to do is cause some riots and hurt or kill some people and they can make your country jail it's own citizens? I mean that's really what you're saying here.
What else could they make you do?
Cybermat47
10-10-12, 11:28 PM
So in other words all your enemies have to do is cause some riots and hurt or kill some people and they can make your country jail it's own citizens? I mean that's really what you're saying here.
What else could they make you do?
This is what I hate about arguing with smart people.
CaptainMattJ.
10-10-12, 11:29 PM
So do it.
Oh the irony. the very same principles you want this man jailed for are the same reason we have modern science, and everything that it brought including the internet and this very forum page. remember how the church felt about Galileo, Darwin, Copernicus. Not only did they further the scientific world tremendously, but it started to chip away at church power and it's influence on the world. And it pissed ALOT of people off. They WERE jailed, killed, banned from publishing. Only with sustained effort did they get anything published. I mean, imagine if no one could say anything that offended anyone else. Nothing would EVER get done.
The fact that Muslims decided to riot over a stupid movie is the real problem here. Why does a silly movie give them the right to kill and pillage. Its ridiculous. The fact that someone made an offensive video using a thing that many free citizens enjoy called FREE SPEECH doesnt give people a free pass to do whatever they want in anger. its absurd.
Cybermat47
10-10-12, 11:31 PM
Eh. Most Christians (myself included) would gladly see Westboro locked up, but you make a good point there.
Sailor Steve
10-10-12, 11:50 PM
Because he made a video that pissed off a lot of people, who were so pissed off that they killed four people, and had riots in several major cities that wounded yet more people.
That's why.
So how is that his fault? Should no one ever do anything that might cause that kind of reaction?
Cybermat47
10-10-12, 11:52 PM
Should no one ever do anything that might cause that kind of reaction?
No.
But, admittedly, he probably didn't intend that sort of reaction.
NOTE: My new rank is worse than being in the brig!
Takeda Shingen
10-11-12, 12:35 AM
NOTE: My new rank is worse than being in the brig!
It's not punitive. It will change shortly. Once upon a time I had it too.
Cybermat47
10-11-12, 12:40 AM
And it's gone. Phew.
Setting aside the reaction to the movie, if he's violated his probation, he has to pay just as we would have to if we had gotten in trouble and were put on probation.
Cybermat47
10-11-12, 10:12 PM
That's true.
Skybird
10-12-12, 03:51 AM
Can a video, any video not necessarily this one, be considered a hate crime? If so what would be the requirements for such?
Freedom of expression: can a finger gesture to the traffic cop, or an obscene word to a car driver who cut you short, earn you a financial fee, yes or not?
Of course a movie can be a hate crime. It's just difficult to formalize its definition in legal terms even when the intention is crystal clear. Palestinian children TV is full of it, that is the first example immediately on my mind.
Freedom of expression: can a finger gesture to the traffic cop, or an obscene word to a car driver who cut you short, earn you a financial fee, yes or not?
Not here in this country, at least not by themselves.
Of course a movie can be a hate crime. It's just difficult to formalize its definition in legal terms even when the intention is crystal clear. Palestinian children TV is full of it, that is the first example immediately on my mind.
That sounds like Potter Stewart's definition of obscenity. :)
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