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News

'Innocence of Muslims' Filmmaker Sentenced To Death (In Egypt)

By  Emma G. Gallegos
Published Nov 27, 2012 11:00 PM
Innocence-of-Muslims-protest-shutterstock.jpg
A protest against "Innocence of Muslims," an anti-Islam film which enraged Muslims globally, in front of the U.S. embassy on September 22, 2012. Kuala Lumpur. (Amir Ridhwan / Shutterstock.com)
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The man behind the "Innocence of Muslims" has been sentenced to death by an Egyptian court.

The sentencing is a symbolic shot at Mark Basseley Youssef, whose laughable, low-budget film, ended up sparking a wave of protests in the middle East with its anti-Islamic themes.

The Egyptian court held a trial for Youssef, seven other Egyptian Coptic Christians and a Florida-based American pastor, according to the Los Angeles Times. The charges were brought against the defendants in September as protests raged. A trial was held (without the defendants present) and it eventually convicted them all of harming national unity, insulting and publicly attacking Islam and spreading false information. Those charges carry a death sentence.

Back in the U.S., Youssef was sentenced to a year in federal prison—not for his film but violating the terms of his probation. Youssef for his part recently said he had no apologies.

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Related:
'Innocence of Muslims' Filmmaker Makes First Public Comments Since Arrest, Has Zero Regret

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