A Xanthi prosecutor was yesterday considering launching criminal proceedings against a television crew that sparked a riot on Tuesday after local Muslims found them filming at a Thracian mosque.

Sources say the prosecutor, who has already received preliminary investigative material, is likely to charge eight out of the 12-strong crew and cast with showing disrespect to a religion and disturbing the peace.

An angry mob of some 100 people gathered outside the mosque in Echinos, northeastern Greece, after someone claimed to have seen a scantily clad actress inside. The cast and crew — which claimed to have entered the mosque to shelter from heavy rain — left the site under police escort.

The municipal council in Myki, some 6 kilometers away, yesterday criticized the media for making too much of the incident while deputy government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros labeled the case an “isolated incident” and said it would not test Greek-Turkish relations. Thrace has a sizable Muslim minority with its roots in Turkey.