Journalist fined for Pope water theft stunt

Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd at the start of his weekly Angelus address over St Peter's square at the Vatican March 11, 2007.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German journalist has been fined 100 euros ($131) after he filmed three artists stealing water from Pope Benedict's garden hose in Bavaria to sell on Internet auction site 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.

He had wanted to call the Pope as a witness but this was denied by the presiding judge.

"I was sure the Pope wouldn't have wanted my client to be punished," he said.