Moscow Backs Ban of U.S. Anti-Islam Film

The Russian prosecutor general's office Monday backed a ban on the U.S.-made anti-Islam film that has sparked deadly violence, saying it would seek to add it to a list of extremist material.

A spokeswoman said her office "has prepared a request to a court to recognize the film, which is posted on the Internet and is offensive to believers, as extremist material," Interfax reported.

The initially obscure "Innocence of Muslims," produced by a U.S. religious group, has been cited as one of the main instigators of riots that have killed 17 people from North Africa to the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Those killed include the U.S. envoy and three consulate staff workers in Libya.

Russian prosecutors have also asked a government watchdog to prevent media from reporting on the content of the film, spokeswoman Marina Gridneva said, adding that the film "offended the religious feelings of believers and fomented ethnic hatred."

Prosecutors have contacted major Internet providers with a warning about showing the film, she said.

Russia recently tightened a law on protecting minors from the Internet, allowing the government to draw up a blacklist of banned sites showing child pornography, promoting drug use and offering tips on suicide.

Under its extremism laws, any court can pronounce a material extremist, and the list includes issues of the Jehovah's Witnesses' "The Watchtower" magazine as well as videos posted on social network sites.

Russia is fighting an Islamist insurgency in its mainly Muslim North Caucasus, where bombings and shootings targeted at the pro-Kremlin authorities are virtually a daily occurrence.