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BERLIN - A judge has ruled out calling Pope Benedict as a witness in a case involving a journalist who filmed three men trying to steal water from the Pope's garden hose to sell on eBay.
The three men, clad in overalls and wearing masks, broke into the garden of the Pope's house in Pentling, a suburb of Regensburg, in August armed with as many as 20 old lemonade bottles, the journalist's lawyer, Jan Bockemuehl, told Reuters.
They were filmed in the act by freelance journalist Hubertus Wiendl, who was caught when the caretaker noted down his car registration number, he said. Wiendl denied any knowledge of the plan to enter the garden. The artists have not been tracked down.
"They barely managed to fill one bottle before being challenged by passers-by and driving off," Bockemuehl said.
"I was sure the Pope wouldn't have wanted my client to be punished," he said.
The journalist has been fined 100 euros ($190.98).
- REUTERS
