Miksic, a former presidential candidate and a candidate for Zagreb Mayor, will not go to prison if in the next year he does not repeat the same criminal offense, the court said on Thursday.
The indictee must also pay the costs of the trial and publish the verdict at his cost in all dailies which in late 2004 carried his statement that a French secret service bought Mesic a villa on the French Riviera.
Responding to Miksic's statement during the last presidential campaign, Mesic said that the spreading of such ugly lies was unacceptable and had to be punished. He took legal action against Miksic and the case was dealt with by the municipal court in the town of Samobor west of Zagreb.
Miksic said that he would appeal against the verdict which he described as a lynching campaign assisted by courts.
Mesic's lawyer Cedo Prodanovic said that his client would soon initiate criminal proceedings and seek 60,000 kuna in damages from Miksic for slander.
"This is the usual amount sought in such cases, and the money will be donated to a children's home in Zagreb," the lawyer said.