Bardot on trial for race slur
2008-04-16 10:48
Paris - French former film star 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 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.
She has been fined four times for inciting racial hatred
since 1997, at first €1 500 and most recently €5 000.
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 did not attend the trial because she said she was
physically unable to. The verdict is expected in several weeks.
French anti-racist groups complained last year about
comments Bardot made about the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha in a
letter to President Nicolas Sarkozy that was later published by
her foundation.
Muslims traditionally mark Eid al-Adha by slaughtering a
sheep or another animal to commemorate the prophet Abraham's
willingness to sacrifice his son on God's orders.
France is home to five million Muslims, Europe's largest Muslim
community, making up eight percent of France's population.
"I am fed up with being under the thumb of this population
which is destroying us, destroying our country and imposing its
acts," the star of 'And God created woman' and 'Contempt' said.
Bardot has previously said France is being invaded by
sheep-slaughtering Muslims and published a book attacking gays,
immigrants and the unemployed, in which she also lamented the
"Islamisation of France".