Bin Laden shirt sends footballer to court

A football fan who had a Paris Saint-Germain replica shirt printed with the name of Osama Bin Laden on the back found himself in court Friday, charged with defending terrorism.

The 21-year-old, who bought the shirt in the club store on the Champs-Elysees, was arrested after a shop assistant reported him saying he wanted to honour the memory of the late Al-Qaeda leader.

In court, the accused denied the comments attributed to him and defended his purchase as a joke. "I've seen a lot worse than that -- shirts with Adolf Hitler on the back for example," he told the court.

The prosecutor had initially proposed restricting the legal follow-up to a simple caution but the case came to court because the accused did not respond to a summons.

As a result, the prosecutor is now seeking a 300-euro fine. The judge will deliver his verdict on December 21.

AFP