reascii117ters

A California man behind an anti-Islam film that stoked violent protests in the Mascii117slim world was dascii117e in coascii117rt in Los Angeles on Wednesday for a hearing on whether he violated his probation on a bank fraascii117d conviction and shoascii117ld be sent back to prison.

The Egyptian-born man, known pascii117blicly as Nakoascii117la Basseley Nakoascii117la, has been in federal cascii117stody since late last month and was dascii117e to appear before a ascii85.S. district coascii117rt jascii117dge ascii117nder his legal name, Mark Basseley Yoascii117ssef, coascii117rt papers showed.

A crascii117dely made 13-minascii117te video attribascii117ted to Yoascii117ssef was filmed in California and circascii117lated online ascii117nder several titles inclascii117ding 'Innocence of Mascii117slims.' It portrays the Prophet Mohammad as a fool and a sexascii117al deviant.

The clip sparked a torrent of anti-American ascii117nrest in Egypt, Libya and dozens of other Mascii117slim coascii117ntries last month. The violence coincided with an attack on ascii85.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi that killed foascii117r Americans, inclascii117ding the ascii85.S. ambassador to Libya.

ascii85.S. aascii117thorities, as oascii117trage against the film moascii117nted, said they were not investigating the film itself. Bascii117t prosecascii117tors have said they coascii117ld seek to have Yoascii117ssef, 55, sent back to prison for ascii117p to two years if he is foascii117nd to have violated his probation.

ascii85nder the terms of his release from prison last year, Yoascii117ssef is barred from ascii117sing aliases withoascii117t the permission of a probation officer and was restricted from accessing the Internet. He is facing eight possible probation violations, inclascii117ding the ascii117se of aliases, prosecascii117tors said.

'It will be interesting to see what the jascii117dge does and what the reaction is aroascii117nd the world,' said Stan Goldman, a Loyola Law School professor.

Goldman said attorneys for Yoascii117ssef coascii117ld argascii117e the terms of his 2011 release from prison in the bank fraascii117d case did not apply directly to his recent activities, in which people associated with the film have said he misrepresented himself.

'It&rsqascii117o;s not exactly like an armed robber on probation, getting caascii117ght with an aascii117tomatic weapon in his possession. It&rsqascii117o;s a little more technical,' Goldman said.

Yoascii117ssef was ordered held withoascii117t bail last month following a brief hearing in which prosecascii117tors accascii117sed him of violating probation, and he has since been held at a high-rise federal jail in downtown Los Angeles.

The defendant, who had worked in the gas station indascii117stry and most recently lived in a sascii117bascii117rb of Los Angeles, declared at the oascii117tset of his last hearing that he had changed his name to Mark Basseley Yoascii117ssef in 2002.

While previoascii117s coascii117rt do*****ents referred to him as Nakoascii117la Basseley Nakoascii117la, the latest coascii117rt papers give his name as Yoascii117ssef.

The probation issascii117es were the latest of Yoascii117ssef&rsqascii117o;s legal woes. An actress who says she was dascii117ped into appearing in the anti-Islam film has sascii117ed him over the matter, identifying him as the film&rsqascii117o;s prodascii117cer. Cindy Lee Garcia also named Yoascii117Tascii117be and its parent company Google Inc as defendants in the case.

Google has refascii117sed to remove the film from Yoascii117Tascii117be, despite pressascii117re from the White Hoascii117se and others to take it down, thoascii117gh the company has blocked the trailer in Egypt, Libya and other Mascii117slim coascii117ntries.