Film Producer Behind Bars
A Warsaw court ruled on Monday that the Polish co-producer of the Oscar-winning film "Schindler's List" must immediately start serving his two-year prison term for his role in a bribery scandal that touched the highest levels of government, a court official said.
In December, a panel of three judges sentenced Lew Rywin, 59, to two years and fined him 100,000 zlotys (USD 31,000) as an accessory to influence peddling.
Shortly before 3 p.m. (1830 IST), a solemn-looking Rywin arrived at the Warsaw Rakowiecka prison surrounded by four bodyguards and walked in through the main gate.
His lawyers had tried to postpone his imprisonment and have sought a medical opinion of his fitness to be in prison. They say he has diabetes and heart problems.
But the court rejected their motion, saying Rywin's health allowed him to serve the term in a prison that has a hospital, according to Wojciech Malek, spokesman for the Warsaw Provincial Court.
Marek Malecki, a Rywin's lawyer, said they filed a complaint on the decision, "immediately after the court made its announcement". He refused to comment on the court's decision. The lawyers have been working to have the prison term cancelled.
Last year, the court ruled that Rywin approached publishers of a leading newspaper in 2002 to solicit a USD 17.5 million bribe. In exchange, he allegedly offered to lobby for changes to a proposed media law that would have allowed the newspaper's publisher to buy a nationwide newspaper.