Trial of the century

You know, I could make a Polish joke here, but this is no laughing matter:

A Polish court Friday reprimanded two Polish women, including a model who has appeared in men's magazines, for indecent exposure after they sunbathed topless, a rarity in the deeply Catholic country.

"Showing nudity goes beyond social customs and norms in Poland," read part of the verdict issued by a court in Szczecin, northwest Poland. "Personal freedom ends where the freedom of another person begins."

"I completely respect the court's verdict, but at the same time I disagree with it and I will certainly appeal it," Dorota Krzysztofek, 28, told Poland's TVN24 news channel. She also said she would be contacting Poland's ombudsman, a civil rights watchdog.

[...]

In May, policemen fined Krzystofek and her 26-year-old friend for sunbathing topless on a public beach in Szczecin.

The women went to court after they failed to pay a fine of 150 zlotys (40 euros, 55 dollars).

The case of the two women -- one of whom is a model and has appeared topless in Polish men's magazines -- sparked such massive media interest that a first hearing in September had to be postponed when too many reporters turned up to fit into the court gallery.

Hmmmmmm...you wouldn't think a case involving a fine of the equivalent of 55 bucks would generate so much buzz. I mean, why would so many reporters turn out for something like that? Oh, right. Tits.

The two women also say that none of their fellow sunbathers were bothered by what they were doing. No, really?