California man linked to anti-Islam film denies violating probation

[Gerald]

(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/...8991L220121010


Note: Wed Oct 10, 2012 5:30pm EDT