Swiss officials said Monday that they had refused a request by the U.S. to extradite Roman Polanski to face sentencing for sex crime charges. In 1978, the Oscar-winning film director fled to Europe hours before he was to be sentenced after pleading guilty to having unlawful sex with a minor. California and U.S. authorities have been pursuing him for the last 30 years.
The guilty plea was a result of a deal and Polanski served 42 days in a Los Angeles jail under psychiatric evaluation before his formal sentencing. Swiss authorities say that they were not provided with the documents that would have helped them determine whether the time already served by Polanski was enough to fulfill his sentence.
U.S. authorities issued an international warrant for Polanski's arrest last fall. Polanski, 76, was arrested in September by Swiss authorities in Zurich after arriving to receive an award for his achievements in film. Polanski has been in Swiss custody since his arrest, but is now free. Since December, he was allowed to stay under house arrest at his vacation home in Switzerland after posting $4.5 million bail.
U.S. authorities have expressed outrage with the decision by the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police. They believe a fugitive convicted of child sex crime charges has been allowed to go free on a technicality. They say they will continue to pursue Polanski and will arrest him if he ventures to countries that have extradition treaties with the U.S.
Source:
Swiss refuse extradition, free Polanski (The Los Angeles Times)
