Sacha Baron tightens security after Arab threats

Melbourne (ANI): Brit actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has had to tighten security around himself and Australian partner Isla Fisher, after he received threats from a terrorist group over his film Bruno. Palestinian militia coalition the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades says it is 'very upset' at featuring in the movie, in which 37-year-old Cohen appears as a gay fashionista.

“We reserve the right to respond in the way we find suitable against this man," News.com.au quoted the organisation as saying in a letter to a Jerusalem-based journalist. “The movie was part of a conspiracy against the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades,' it stated.

In the film, Cohen's Austrian character arranges a meeting with the organisation's Ayman Abu Aita, and asks to be kidnapped so he can become famous. The scene ends abruptly when Abu Aita closes his hand into a fist, and orders his guest to 'get out now'. “This was a dirty use of our brother, Ayman, and we don't accept that the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades is part of the film," the group said.

According to London's Times newspaper, Cohen has increased security around himself, actress Fisher, and their baby daughter Olive in preparation for reprisals. The organisation is a United States-designated terrorist group accused of orchestrating suicide bombings and shootings.

Abu Aita says he is no longer connected to the group and has threatened to sue Cohen, and his lawyer, Hatem Abu Ahmad, says his life is at risk for being associated with the homosexual character.