Polish publisher fined for defaming Pope

WARSAW, Poland, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- A publisher in staunchly Roman Catholic Poland has been convicted and fined for insulting fellow countryman Pope John Paul II.

Polish Radio said Tuesday Jerzy Urban, the publisher of the Nie satirical magazine, had been fined $6,400 for an article written just before a Papal visit to Poland in 2002 entitled "Wandering Sado-Masochism."

The article made fun of the Pope's fragile state of health and his old age.

Urban was convicted under a highly controversial law that forbids Poles from insulting heads of state. In international law, the Vatican is considered a state and the Pope its head.

The prosecution's plea for a 10 month suspended jail sentence to accompany the fine was rejected.

Poland is one of the most deeply religious countries in Europe and the Polish-born pontiff is widely revered.

Urban was a spokesman for communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski in the 1980s.