Shane McMahon's Ass
09-29-2009, 12:28 PM
INTERNATIONAL film-makers rallied around Roman Polanski as the Oscar winner fights US moves to extradite him from a Swiss prison over a 1977 child sex case.
The arrest of the Polish-French director as he arrived in Switzerland at the weekend to attend the Zurich film festival has also drawn outrage from the Governments of Poland and France.
More than 70 film industry figures signed a petition calling for Polanski's release, including Michael Mann, Wim Wenders and Pedro Almodovar.
"Filmmakers in France, in Europe, in the United States and around the world are dismayed by this decision," said the petition.
The French consul general Jean-Luc Faure-Tournaire, who visited Polanski in a Swiss prison yesterday, said he was being "well treated".
"He thanks the many people who have shown support through the press and public opinion," the consulate said in Zurich.
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Swiss authorities say they are waiting for an extradition request from the United States over a 1977 case in which he admitted having sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Los Angeles prosecutors confirmed they would file a warrant seeking Polanski's return to the United States, noting they had 40 days to prepare it.
But Polanski's French lawyer Herve Temime said the director rejected any prospect of extradition.
"Given the extravagant circumstances of his arrest, his Swiss lawyer will ask without delay for him to be released, possibly under certain conditions," Temime said.
Kouchner said he was working with Polish counterpart Radek Sikorski to help Polanski and that they had jointly written to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to ask for the charges to be dropped.
"This affair is frankly a bit sinister. Here is a man of such talent, recognised worldwide, recognised especially in the country where he was arrested. This is not nice at all," Kouchner told France-Inter radio.
But the State Department said it would not wade into the row.
Polanski fled the United States in 1978 before sentencing on a charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
He has never returned, even missing the Oscar award for "The Pianist" in 2003.
Temine said Polanski visits Switzerland often and owns a chalet in Gstaad where he spent three months this year.
Switzerland says Polanski is being held under an international alert issued by the United States in 2005.
As Polanski can launch several appeals, a final extradition decision could take weeks or months, legal experts said.
The Los Angeles Times said Polanski's lawyers may have sparked the arrest by claiming that Los Angeles prosecutors had never sought to extradite him in 30 years.
It cited two unidentified sources familiar with Polanski's case as saying that court motions filed in July by defence lawyers had suggested prosecutors were not serious about capturing him.
"Combined with the fact that no effort has been made to extradite Mr Polanski, the intent here is clear: invoke a physical absence which they caused and deliberately perpetuate in order to preserve the unconstitutional status quo and never address the misconduct head on," one motion said.
In May, a Los Angeles judge refused Polanski's bid to dismiss the underage sex case after he failed to appear in court.
Polanski's legal team argued the conviction should be annulled because the judge who heard the 1970s case had improperly colluded with prosecutors. The judge has since died.
The arrest of the Polish-French director as he arrived in Switzerland at the weekend to attend the Zurich film festival has also drawn outrage from the Governments of Poland and France.
More than 70 film industry figures signed a petition calling for Polanski's release, including Michael Mann, Wim Wenders and Pedro Almodovar.
"Filmmakers in France, in Europe, in the United States and around the world are dismayed by this decision," said the petition.
The French consul general Jean-Luc Faure-Tournaire, who visited Polanski in a Swiss prison yesterday, said he was being "well treated".
"He thanks the many people who have shown support through the press and public opinion," the consulate said in Zurich.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
Swiss authorities say they are waiting for an extradition request from the United States over a 1977 case in which he admitted having sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Los Angeles prosecutors confirmed they would file a warrant seeking Polanski's return to the United States, noting they had 40 days to prepare it.
But Polanski's French lawyer Herve Temime said the director rejected any prospect of extradition.
"Given the extravagant circumstances of his arrest, his Swiss lawyer will ask without delay for him to be released, possibly under certain conditions," Temime said.
Kouchner said he was working with Polish counterpart Radek Sikorski to help Polanski and that they had jointly written to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to ask for the charges to be dropped.
"This affair is frankly a bit sinister. Here is a man of such talent, recognised worldwide, recognised especially in the country where he was arrested. This is not nice at all," Kouchner told France-Inter radio.
But the State Department said it would not wade into the row.
Polanski fled the United States in 1978 before sentencing on a charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
He has never returned, even missing the Oscar award for "The Pianist" in 2003.
Temine said Polanski visits Switzerland often and owns a chalet in Gstaad where he spent three months this year.
Switzerland says Polanski is being held under an international alert issued by the United States in 2005.
As Polanski can launch several appeals, a final extradition decision could take weeks or months, legal experts said.
The Los Angeles Times said Polanski's lawyers may have sparked the arrest by claiming that Los Angeles prosecutors had never sought to extradite him in 30 years.
It cited two unidentified sources familiar with Polanski's case as saying that court motions filed in July by defence lawyers had suggested prosecutors were not serious about capturing him.
"Combined with the fact that no effort has been made to extradite Mr Polanski, the intent here is clear: invoke a physical absence which they caused and deliberately perpetuate in order to preserve the unconstitutional status quo and never address the misconduct head on," one motion said.
In May, a Los Angeles judge refused Polanski's bid to dismiss the underage sex case after he failed to appear in court.
Polanski's legal team argued the conviction should be annulled because the judge who heard the 1970s case had improperly colluded with prosecutors. The judge has since died.