A man from Werben village in Germany has climbed a 72-foot pole in protest of his being convicted of a laptop fraud and 15 months in prison. Fred Gregor, father of five children, is scheduled to begin his 15-month prison sentence on March 1.

"I've been unfairly judged", the 45-year-old said from his perch through a telephone. "I want a new hearing." Gregor was convicted of fraud last May after a man reported that he sold him a laptop computer online, but when he received the mail it contained only sand.

According to the Deutsche Welle's Monday edition, Gregor has been accused of fraud previously and is also involved in setting up an Internet site on which his wife stripped.

Gregor blames jurors of basing their decision on his past record and says he wants a fresh hearing. However, authorities plan to send a Special Forces team to forcibly remove Gregor from the pole if he doesn't climb down by March 1.

Gregor has been using a 3.25 square meter wooden box atop the pole and thrives on U.S. military surplus provisions. He is using a system of bags and pulleys as a toilet.