No charge over Madonna cross act

The cross scene was criticised in most countries the tour visited

Pop star Madonna will not face charges over a mock crucifixion staged on her 2006 world tour, Dutch prosecutors say.

Protestant party SGP had called for the singer to be prosecuted for performing the song Live To Tell suspended from a cross while wearing a crown of thorns.

"Madonna will not be prosecuted for blasphemy," the Amsterdam prosecutor's office said, adding that the scene lent itself "to different interpretations".

The singer, 48, said her performance was an appeal for Aids charities.

The mock crucifixion, part of Madonna's four-month Confessions world tour, met protest in most of the countries it visited.

Bomb threat

If Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing Madonna

US and European church groups condemned the mock crucifixion, and a priest in the Netherlands was arrested after making a hoax bomb threat in an attempt to stop the Dutch leg of the tour in September.

In Moscow, Russian police detained 10 supporters of Orthodox organisations outside the concert for holding an unauthorised picket.

Madonna defended her performance, saying: "It is no different than a person wearing a cross. My performance is neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous.

"I believe in my heart that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing."

Dutch prosecutors appear to have accepted this interpretation of the scene.

"Through her show, the singer tried to express her frustrations about certain situations in the world," said the prosecutor's office. "It is not a question of contempt for God.

"Furthermore, Madonna did not discredit Christians as a group."

The SGP are free to appeal against the decision.