Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Rome (dpa) - The trial began in Italy Monday of veteran writer Oriana Fallaci on charges of defaming Islam in a 2004 book.
The lawsuit against the 75-year-old Italian in the town of Bergamo in northern Italy was brought by Adel Smith, president of the Union of Italian Muslims. The book was originally published in Bergamo.
Fallaci's book The Force of Reason gained headlines worldwide for her argument that Islam is an aggressive and expansionary religion.
The severely ill author, a former war correspondent and partisan fighter during WWII, lives in New York and will be represented at the trial by her lawyer. Adel Smith was not present Monday.
The trial was adjourned Monday till June 26. The state prosecutor had tried to get the case dismissed, but this was rejected by the court.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
