Brigitte Bardot on trial for "insulting" France's Muslims

Submitted by GWK (United States), Apr 16, 2008 at 09:47

From Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSL1584799120080415?feedType=RSS&feedName=entertainmentNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Brigitte Bardot went on trial on Tuesday for insulting Muslims, the fifth time she has faced the charge of "inciting racial hatred" over her controversial remarks about Islam and its followers.

Prosecutors asked that the Paris court hand the 73-year-old former sex symbol a two-month suspended prison sentence and fine her 15,000 euros ($23,760) for saying the Muslim community was "destroying our country and imposing its acts".

Since retiring from the film industry in the 1970s, Bardot has become a prominent animal rights activist but she has also courted controversy by denouncing Muslim traditions and immigration from predominantly Muslim countries.

Prosecutor Anne de Fontette told the court she was seeking a tougher sentence than usual, adding: "I am a little tired of prosecuting Mrs Bardot."

Bardot has previously said France is being invaded by sheep-slaughtering Muslims and published a book attacking immigrants and the unemployed, in which she also lamented the "Islamisation of France".

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