Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Roman Polanski held in Switzerland

From BBC News:
Film director Roman Polanski has been taken into custody in Switzerland and faces extradition to the US for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

Mr Polanski, 76, was detained in Zurich on Saturday as he travelled from France to collect a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival.

He is being held under a 2005 international alert issued by the US.
As well as a director, Polanski is also a screenwriter, with credits including Rosemary's Baby (from the novel by Ira Levin).

France 24 (by AFP) reports on opposition to his arrest:
Government ministers, movie directors, writers and intellectuals expressed shock and outrage Sunday after the detention of Oscar winning director Roman Polanski in Switzerland on three-decade-old child sex charges.

France and Poland are to ask the United States to drop the charges and consider a presidential pardon over the case, Poland's PAP news agency said, though Polanski has already acknowledged he had sex with the 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles in 1977...

The Swiss film screenwriters and directors association, the ASSR, called the arrest "a judicial scandal which will tarnish Switzerland's reputation around the world."
Update: From The New York Times - In France, a debate about the case.

7 comments:

  1. He should be held accountable for his actions.

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  2. Anonymous12:36 am

    The good ol US of A - they are quite happy to detail UK citizens without trial, but "justice" obliges them to hound a 76-year-old man for an incident 32 years ago that nobody now (including the girl) wants dredged up.

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  3. Anonymous4:58 am

    As usual the europhilles want him to go free. He was convicted, the only reason he is free is he fled the US before he was incaarserated. The woman who was violated has no input, he was convicted, now Department of Corrections has the case. :)

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  4. Anonymous10:05 am

    When you see how autocratically American judges behave, it's no surprise that he wouldn't want to risk their idea of justice.

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  5. Anonymous5:53 pm

    To those people defending him, he drugged and raped a thirteen year-old girl. He pleaded guilty. What part of it don't you understand?

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  6. Anonymous5:55 pm

    The testimony of the victim, which Polanski did not, and does not, dispute, was that the director penetrated her vaginally and anally while she begged him to stop and pleaded to be taken home.

    In short, Roman Polanski, by his own admission, drugged and raped a 13 year-old.

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  7. Anonymous6:57 pm

    The man, whether famous or not, committed and plead guilty to a henious crime. Letting him free would make heroes out of all rapists. Coming up with the excuse that it happened over so many years ago, makes no difference. If that were the case, Roman Polanski can not be 'bothered' at all by the murder of his late wife, Sharon Tate. Same is as same does!

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