Polish Hollywood producer jailed

Lawyers say they will appeal on behalf of Lew Rywin

A leading film-maker has been jailed for two-and-a-half years by a Warsaw court for soliciting a bribe in one of Poland's biggest corruption scandals.

Lew Rywin co-produced the Oscar-winning Hollywood films Schindler's List and The Pianist.

Rywin, who was also fined $25,000, was convicted of seeking more than $17m from a newspaper editor in return for promoting changes to Polish media law.

Rywin told the editor he was acting on behalf of senior politicians.

The BBC's Adam Easton in Warsaw says the scandal surrounding the case has contributed to a plunge in the popularity of the Democratic Left Alliance of Prime Minister Leszek Miller.

Mr Miller denied any involvement and the court cleared him of any wrongdoing.

But he has been plagued by a string of corruption scandals, and has announced he will resign after Poland joins the European Union this weekend.

'Set-up'

The judges ruled that in the summer of 2002 Rywin went to the chief editor of the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper and asked for the bribe.

In return the 58-year-old film producer promised to lobby for changes to a media bill to allow the newspaper's parent company, Agora SA, to buy a television station.

During the conversation, which was secretly recorded by the editor, Rywin claimed he was speaking on behalf of people holding power but the court said there was no proof such a group existed.

During the five-month trial, he denied asking for the bribe saying he was set up by the newspaper.

Rywin's lawyers have said they will appeal against the decision.