French mother on trial for son's 9/11 T-shirt

AVIGNON, France - Agence France-Presse

A mother on trial in southern France has defended herself for dressing her three-year-old son in a T-shirt reading "I am a bomb" and "Born on September 11." Bouchra Bagour, 35, is on trial in Avignon on charges of defending terrorism after sending her boy, named Jihad, to school wearing the T-shirt.
 
A ruling in the case is expected on April 10.
 
On Wednesday Bagour told the court she admitted the move was "tactless" but insisted it was not meant as a provocation.
 
She said she simply wanted to make note of her son's birthday on September 11 and did not intend to reference the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001.
 
Her brother Zeyad Bagour, who is also facing charges for having bought Jihad the T-shirt, told the court: "We were never trying to claim responsibility for this thing or defend a cause." Prosecutors said there was no doubt at the meaning of the T-shirt.
 
"Who can claim that this is not a direct and scandalous reference to terrorism?" prosecutor Olivier Couvignon told the court.
 
The two face up to five years in prison and fines of up to 45,000 euros each.