Kottak is sentenced to one month in prison.
Scorpions drummer James Kottak was tried yesterday in a Dubai court and sentenced to one month in prison on charges of insulting Muslim passengers and causing a disturbance at the emirate's airport.
Witnesses say Kottak was drunk and giving the middle finger to Pakistani passengers. Local police also said the drummer lowered his pants and exposed his backside, in addition to making negative comments referring to the smell of Muslim passengers. An airport official said Kottak covered his nose and said he would not travel with the passengers, whom he called "uneducated Muslims" .
Kottak pleaded not guilty to charges of insulting religion but pleaded guilty to drinking without permission. The drummer defended himself by saying that he didn't lower his pants, but rather lifted his shirt to show his back tattoo and that he "would never speak of Muslims like that, drunk or not .
Kottak passed through Dubai airport en route to Bahrain where he was scheduled to perform at a Formula 1 event, and this incident led to Mark Cross taking over on drums at the F1 Rocks event.