A Palestinian grocer is suing actor Sacha Baron Cohen for $115 million over his portrayal in “Bruno.”
Ayman Abu Aita recently filed the lawsuit in the United States against the movie’s producers and Cohen, according to reports.
In the movie, Ayman Abu Aita, a Christian peace activist, escorted Cohen’s alter ego Bruno, a gay fashion journalist, to a Lebanese refugee camp. Abu Aita was identified in a caption as “Terrorist group leader, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.”
Abu Aita says he has received death threats in the wake of the movie. He claimed he did not realize that Cohen was an actor filming a comedy, and said that Cohen misrepresented himself, saying the movie would help the Palestinian cause.
Aita served in the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade from 2000 to 2003, then spent two years in an Israeli prison on charges of shooting at Israeli soldiers, according to World Net Daily.
He is now a representative of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party in the West Bank town of Beit Sahor, near Bethlehem. – jta