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Man Behind Anti-Islamic Film Sentenced To Year In Prison

The man behind the anti-Islamic video that is believed to have sparked protests in the Muslim world was sentenced Wednesday to a year in prison for violating the condition of his probation.

Here's more from The Associated Press:

"U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder immediately sentenced Mark Basseley Youssef after he admitted to four of the eight alleged violations, including obtaining a fraudulent California driver's license.

"None of the violations had to do with the content of Innocence of Muslims, a film that depicts Mohammad as a religious fraud, pedophile and a womanizer. The movie sparked violence in Libya and other parts of the Middle East, killing dozens."

Federal authorities were seeking a two-year sentence.

You may remember that Youssef, who was previously known as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, was arrested in September. He'd gone into hiding after his film prompted rage across the Muslim world.

Youssef previously served 21 months in prison on bank fraud charges. He'd used more than a dozen aliases to open some 60 ban accounts.

Here's more from the AP:

"After he was released from prison, Youssef was barred from using computers or the Internet for five years without approval from his probation officer.

Federal authorities have said they believe Youssef is responsible for the film, but they haven't said whether he was the person who posted it online. He also wasn't supposed to use any name other than his true legal name without the prior written approval of his probation officer."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Krishnadev Calamur is NPR's deputy Washington editor. In this role, he helps oversee planning of the Washington desk's news coverage. He also edits NPR's Supreme Court coverage. Previously, Calamur was an editor and staff writer at The Atlantic. This is his second stint at NPR, having previously worked on NPR's website from 2008-15. Calamur received an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri.
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