Kazakhstan threaten Borat lawsuit

The Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry have threatened legal action against Sacha Baron Cohen, who portrays fake character Borat on Da Ali G Show.

The British comedian, who created the fake Kazakhstani journalist, portrays Kazakhstan as "a country populated by drunks who enjoy cow-punching," says hollywoodreporter.com.

Cohen's portrayal has never before gained so much controversy, but his appearance hosting the MTV Europe Music Awards as Borat in early November has put the back up the Ministry. Spokesman Yerzhan Ashykbayev said that "we reserve the right to any legalaction to prevent new pranks of this kind...Mr Cohen is serving someone's political order designed to present Kazakhstan and its people in a derogatory way...(his) behaviour is utterly unacceptable, being a concoction of bad taste and ill manners, which is completely incompatible with ethics and civilised behaviour."

Cohen has previously made a number of extreme jokes about the country, saying that its citizens would shoot a dog and then have a party, as well as intimating that local wine was created from fermented horse urine.