Bardot fined for inciting racial hatred

PARIS, June 3 (UPI) -- Former movie star Brigitte Bardot, a well-known animal rights activist, has been fined $23,000 by a French court for inciting racial hatred.

The BBC reported Bardot, 73, was fined for a 2006 letter she wrote to Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president who at the time was Interior minister, and posted on her Web site.

In the letter, Bardot protested the traditional slaughter of animals for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. She also demanded the animals be stunned before being killed and stated Muslims were "destroying our country by imposing their ways."

This latest ruling marks the fifth time Bardot has been convicted for her remarks about Islam and its followers. It is also the steepest fine she has received, the British network reported.

Bardot, who was not in court to hear the most recent judgment against her, wrote a letter to the presiding judge, insisting she has the right to express her opinions on behalf of animal welfare.