“Bruno” Defamation Lawsuit Moves to D.C. Superior Court

Palestinian man refiles after case tossed out of district court

Ayman Abu Aita is a grocer undeterred. The Palestinian man is suing the makers of the movie “Bruno” for portraying him as a terrorist.

The suit names “Bruno'' star Sacha Baron Cohen, David Letterman and others. It was filed in December in U.S. District Court in Washington.
 
But a judge dismissed that suit on Thursday. The defendants argued since Abu Aita is not an American citizen, the federal court lacked jurisdiction.
 
Undeterred, Abu Aita came back. His lawyers have filed a new lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court.
 
In the 2009 movie, Baron Cohen plays a gay, Austrian fashion journalist who travels to the Middle East to make peace. He interviews several people in the film, including Abu Aita. 
 
The multi-million dollar lawsuit alleges that Abu Aita was defamed when a written caption in the film labels him as “Terrorist group leader, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.”
 
Abu Aita says he's a shopkeeper. He doesn’t think most viewers got the joke.
 
Letterman apparently got caught up in the mix after airing that clip during an interview with Cohen on the “Late Night” show.
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