Producer of anti-Islam film arrested
Los Angeles
(AsiaNews / Agencies) - Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the man who is believed to
have been behind the anti-Islam film, which sparked widespread violence across the
Muslim world, has been arrested for violating the terms of his probation.
His
arrest is not related to the production, distribution and content of the film
"Innocence of Muslims", which led to demonstrations and attacks on
U.S. embassies around the world, including the death of Ambassador Chris
Stevens in Benghazi.
Nakoula,
who says he is a Coptic Christian, had already been arrested in the past for
drug dealing and bank fraud. In all these
episodes he has often used pseudonyms. For
this he had been forbidden to use the internet or other names without the
consent of the government.
But
in order to make the movie and publish it on the internet, he used false names.
One
of the actresses in the film anti-Islam, Cindy Lee Garcia, denounced him for
having presented a false name (Sem Basin) and for deceiving her about the
content of the film. Other
actors confirmed that they had been called to make a movie called
"Warriors of the desert" and that the dialogue had no reference to
Muhammad and Islam. Instead,
dialogue was later dubbed, transforming it into an offensive and vulgar film
that presents Muhammad as violent and bloodthirsty, as a pedophile and sexual
deviant.
By
itself, the film does not violate any law of the United States, where there is
freedom of opinion. But
Nakoula used fake names to open a mobile phone contract and a bank account, in
contravention of his probation. And for this he has been imprisoned.
He
continues to say that he had produced the film, but is not the director nor the
Arabic translator of the trailer posted on Youtube that has inflamed scandal
and violence in various Muslim countries.