U.S. arrests man behind anti- Islam film

After weeks in hiding, the
American man behind the anti-
Islam film that sparked outrage
across the Muslim world,
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, has
been smoked out and arrested
by authorities, American media
are reporting this morning.
Mr. Nakoula, 55, a Christian,
originally from Egypt, was
arrested Thursday for violating
terms of his probation,
authorities said.
He was taken into custody
Thursday, Time.com quoted U.S.
Attorney’s spokesman, Thomas
Mrozek, as saying.
Mr. Nakoula is scheduled to be
arraigned before a U.S. District
Court Thursday (Friday morning
in Nigeria) in a hearing that is
closed to the media and the
public.
The California man has been on
probation after he was convicted
for a 2010 federal check fraud
that earned him a 21-month
prison sentence.
Under the terms of his
probation, he was barred from
using computers or the Internet
for five years without clearance
from his probation officer.
But Mr. Nakoula broke the terms
of his probation by
masterminding the production
of “Innocence of Muslims” (a
blasphemous, anti-Islam film
which portrayed Islam and its
Prophet in bad light) and then
uploading a 14-minute trailer to
YouTube.
The film immediately sparked
protests across the world,
leading to the killing of the U.S.
Ambassador to Libya,
Christopher Stevens and three
other U.S officials in Libya.
The officials were killed when
armed protesters stormed the
American consulate in Benghazi,
shooting at the building and
throwing homemade bombs.
In Nigeria, Muslims protested
for days in Kaduna, Kano,
Katsina and other northern
cities.
The film was initially thought to
have been made by a certain
Sam Bacile, who also uploaded
the film to YouTube under that
name.
But the AP has since determined
that Bacile does not exist and
that that it was Mr. Nakoula,
who made the amateurish film.
He later acknowledged that he
was involved with the movie, but
claimed he only provided
logistics and management.
The protest that erupted on
September 11, two months after
the film was uploaded to
YouTube, led to the death of
about 13 people around the
world.
Apart from the four Americans
killed in Libya, reports say four
other people were killed outside
the United States embassy in
Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.
Tunisia recorded three fatalities;
while Sudan had two.
An attack on two American-
owned fast food joints in
Lebanon also left at least one
person dead, reports say.
Across the Middle East, security
forces battled protesters with
tears gas, stun grenade and
rubber bullets.
The killings in Tunisia came after
protesters breached the US
embassy compound in the
capital Tunis. The US embassy in
Khartoum, Sudan, also came
under intense attack leaving one
person dead. The UK and
German embassies were also
attacked in Tunis.