The expectant father fired off an email expressing his regrets for being absent from Tuesday's premiere of his latest oeuvre, Babel, explaining that the "imminent arrival" of his and Angelina Jolie's highly anticipated baby would keep him away.

Babel stars Pitt as a husband and father trying to cope with a crisis on a vacation to Morocco. Cate Blanchett plays his wife, and Gael Garcia Bernal also stars. The film was directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

"With the imminent arrival of the newest addition to our family, I am unable to join Alejandro, Cate, Gael and the rest of the cast and crew in introducing the film," Pitt said in the message, which was read at a press conference following the screening.

"I am tremendously proud of Babel and want to congratulate everyone involved for this great achievement."

Meanwhile, back in Namibia, a South African photographer became the latest casualty of Pitt and Jolie's ongoing battle for privacy.

Shutterbug John Liebenberg was arrested Friday for trespassing while on a quest to photograph the expectant parents.

Liebenberg was taken into custody after driving into the back of a police barracks while trying to secure a vantage point of a nearby private hospital, where he'd heard Jolie had been rushed to give birth.

He spent three days in a communal jail cell before appearing in court Monday to face the charges. Prosecutors recommended that he serve one year in prison or pay the equivalent of a $152 fine. Liebenberg's lawyers, on the other hand, angled for a fine.

But Walvis Bay magistrate Sarel Jacobs let the photographer off with just a warning, calling his weekend of imprisonment "unnecessary."

"It might be that you are a foreigner and that you were arrested for trespassing [but] why was it necessary to keep you in custody for the whole weekend?" Jacobs asked during sentencing.

"I don't understand that, and I think it was unnecessary."

Jacobs' lenient approach toward Liebenberg was unusual in a country where officials have expressed sympathy for Pitt and Jolie and have chastised the paparazzi for hounding the high-profile couple.

Last month, Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula told the Sunday Times of South Africa that he felt the couple was entitled to some measure of protection from the photographers.

"Harassment is not allowed in Namibia," he said. "If a person says they don't want to be photographed then, of course, that person deserves protection."

Pitt and Jolie have definitely gone to extreme measures to ensure their privacy is guarded. The beach front resort where they have been holed up for the last several weeks with their kids has been swathed in green cloth screens, while an aggressive security detail prevents unwanted visitors from getting too close.

Late last month, Jolie told NBC that she was not quite eight months pregnant. Now that a few weeks have passed, Maddox and Zahara should have a new baby brother or sister any day now.

In an informal poll conducted by a Namibian radio station, half of the respondents said they believed the day Jolie gives birth should be declared a national holiday.

We're thinking why stop there? Make it a global holiday.

(Originally published May 22, 2006 at 11:30 a.m. PT.)