Roman Polanski arrested [Archive] - Crime Library Message Boards

lorettalockhorn

09-27-2009, 02:00 PM

Roman Polanski Is Arrested in Switzerland

PARIS — After more than 30 years as a fugitive from U.S. justice, Roman Polanski, the director of legendary films including “Chinatown” and “Rosemary’s Baby,” was arrested in Switzerland on an international warrant as he arrived in Zurich for a film festival featuring a retrospective of his work, the Swiss authorities said Sunday.

Mr. Polanski was detained by the police Saturday upon his arrival at the Zurich airport, said Guido Balmer, a spokesman for the Swiss Federal Justice Department. The director was being held in provisional detention in preparation for a possible extradition to the United States based on an arrest warrant dating to 1978.

Mr. Polanski, 76, was convicted that year in a California court of unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl whom he had lured to the home of Jack Nicholson and drugged. Faced with a prison term, he fled the United States just before his sentencing.

Samantha Geimer, the girl with whom Mr. Polanski had sex, has since publicly forgiven him.

Lawyers for Mr. Polanski sought to have the case dismissed last December, claiming that the release of a documentary called “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired,” had showed “a pattern of misconduct and improper communications” among Los Angeles officials.

In Paris, where Mr. Polanski was born and now lives, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had spoken with his Swiss counterpart, Micheline Calmy-Rey, and communicated “the desire of the French authorities that the rights of Mr. Polanski be fully respected and that this affair rapidly find a favorable resolution.”

The French culture minister, Frederic Mitterrand, also said in a statement that he was “astonished” by the arrest.

The organizers of the Zurich Film Festival, which had been preparing to give Mr. Polanski a lifetime achievement award, said in a statement that they received news of the arrest “with great consternation and shock,” but that they would give Mr. Polanski the award at the earliest possible opportunity. The festival will continue as planned, they said.

Officials at the U.S. Department of Justice could not immediately be reached for comment.

Assuming Mr. Polanski does not waive his right to appeal, he can challenge both the arrest warrant and any eventual extradition order, Mr. Balmer said, and appeal both issues in the Swiss federal penal court of justice. If he were to lose those appeals, he could then get a final hearing on both issues at the Federal Court of Justice.

Mr. Balmer said he could not estimate how long any appeal might go on, but said: “It’s true that it won’t be a matter of hours.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/movies/28polanski.html

Marian Paroo

09-27-2009, 04:55 PM

http://boards.library.trutv.com/showthread.php?t=294853&highlight=polanski

He is a vile turd, and I'll use any opportunity that I can to repeat that.:(

samanthajane13

09-27-2009, 10:14 PM

Polanski's arrest could be his path to freedom
By LINDA DEUTSCH and ERNST E. ABEGG, Associated Press Writers Linda Deutsch And Ernst E. Abegg, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 10 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – A surprise arrest at the Zurich airport, detention at the hands of Swiss authorities, and a high-profile extradition process that could take weeks or months. The irony is that for Roman Polanski, the acclaimed director accused of child rape three decades ago, this latest ordeal could lead to the one thing he's lacked since: his freedom.

Polanski's arrest as he arrived Saturday in Switzerland for a film festival honor could potentially spur on his legal team's recent motion to dismiss charges that have dogged him since he fled the U.S. for France in 1978, a year after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.

But it could also elevate his case into an international ordeal — involving the governments of Switzerland, France, Poland and the United States — and potentially complicate his possible extradition.

"The big issue is whether it would have been better for him to negotiate a surrender when he had the chance," Loyola University law professor Laurie Levenson said. "Now it has become an international incident and the district attorney may be under pressure not to negotiate a sweetheart deal. They've gone to all this trouble of getting Switzerland involved. It could make it harder on him."

Nevertheless, some believe the arrest of the 76-year-old Academy Award winner could lead to a resolution that will allow him to once again travel freely.

"I think he will finally get his day in court," criminal defense attorney Steve Cron said, "and there's a good chance his case will be dismissed or the sentence will be commuted to time served."

Meanwhile, Poland and France intend to make a joint appeal to Switzerland and the United States to have Polanski released from his detention, Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski told the Polish news agency PAP. Sikorski said he and French counterpart Bernard Kouchner also plan to ask Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to offer Polanski clemency.

"The good news for him is he's been living under a cloud all these years wondering who would swoop in and arrest him," Cron said. "Now he can get this thing finally worked out."

Polanski, the director of such classic films as "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby," reached a plea deal in 1978, but was threatened with more prison time than previously agreed upon and fled to France before he was formally sentenced.

France has no extradition treaty with the U.S., and while he traveled throughout Europe, he avoided arrest in part because of lax policies on apprehending foreign fugitives. But in recent years, many countries have gradually tightened their efforts to find suspects abroad and extradite them.

It's also not clear how hard authorities was searching for him. The Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement that U.S. authorities have sought Polanski's arrest around the world since 2005, although he has been a fugitive much longer.

"There was a valid arrest request and we knew when he was coming," Swiss Justice Ministry spokesman Guido Balmer told The Associated Press. He rejected the idea that politics may have played a part in the action.

Previous attempts to nab Polanski when he left France were thwarted because authorities didn't learn of his travel soon enough — or Polanski didn't make the trip, said William Sorukas, chief of the U.S. Marshals Service's domestic investigations branch.

"This is not the first time we have done this over the years," said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. She said warrants had been sent out whenever rumors circulated that he would be traveling to a country outside France.

Continued...

samanthajane13

09-27-2009, 10:15 PM

In this case, the honor for Polanski's work proved to be his downfall, Gibbons said.

"It was publicized on the Internet that he was going to be at the Zurich Film Festival," Gibbons said. "They were selling tickets online."

Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said the director will remain in Zurich until the conclusion of the extradition proceedings. The United States now has 60 days to file a formal request for Polanski's transfer, she said.

A U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman in Washington declined to comment on the case Sunday.

Polanski's French lawyer, Georges Kiejman, told France-Inter radio that it was "too early to know" if Polanski would be extradited. "For now we are trying to have the arrest warrant lifted in Zurich," he said.

Polanski's long-running legal saga gained new momentum late last year with the release of an HBO documentary, "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," which claimed misconduct by the now-deceased judge who handled 1977 case and reneged on a plea deal. With the new evidence presented in the film, Polanski sent a team of lawyers to court in Los Angeles seeking dismissal of the charges.

But despite acknowledging "substantial misconduct," a judge ruled that Polanski would have to appear in person to pursue his motion. Polanski's lawyers said he decided not to risk arrest on a fugitive warrant, and planned instead never to set foot in the United States.

His victim, Samantha Geimer, who long ago identified herself publicly, sued Polanski and reached an undisclosed settlement. But she has since joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal, saying she wants the case to be over and at one point offering to come to court in Polanski's place to argue for dismissal.

Geimer, who lives in the small town of Kilauea on the north shore of Kauai, Hawaii, could not be reached for comment Sunday. A man at Geimer's house who identified himself as one of her sons said she wasn't home. He declined further comment.

In Paris, Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said that he was in contact with French President Nicolas Sarkozy "who is following the case with great attention and shares the minister's hope that the situation can be quickly resolved."

Mitterrand added that he was "dumbfounded" by Polanski's arrest, adding that he "strongly regrets that a new ordeal is being inflicted on someone who has already experienced so many of them."

Those comments referred, in part, to the fact that Polanski, a native of France who was taken to Poland by his parents, escaped Krakow's Jewish ghetto as a child during World War II and lived off the charity of strangers. His mother died at the Nazis' Auschwitz death camp.

Polanski worked his way into filmmaking in Poland, gaining an Oscar nomination for best foreign-language film in 1964 for his "Knife in the Water." Offered entry to Hollywood, he directed the classic "Rosemary's Baby" in 1968.

His life was shattered again in 1969 when his wife, actress Sharon Tate, and four other people were gruesomely murdered in Los Angeles by followers of cult figure Charles Manson. Tate was eight months pregnant at the time.

Eight years later, the Polanski rape case was a sensation when it broke: He was arrested for having sex with the girl, whom he had hired as a model for a photo shoot at Jack Nicholson's house while the actor was away. He was accused of giving her part of a Quaalude pill and champagne, taking her into a hot tub and having sex with her.

Polanski was initially indicted on six felony counts and faced up to life in prison. Instead, he pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and the other counts were dismissed.

The maximum sentence he could have faced was 50 years, although prosecutors had said at the time that the typical sentence was 16 months to three years in prison.

___

Abegg reported from Zurich. Associated Press writers contributing to this report include: Bradley S. Klapper in Geneva; Angela Doland in Paris; Matt Moore in Berlin; Devlin Barrett in Washington; and Herbert Sample in Honolulu.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090928/ap_en_mo/eu_switzerland_polanski

Marian Paroo

09-28-2009, 03:46 AM

As you all can see from my comments in the other Polanski thread, I think it is all a fake and a set up.

IMO and gut feeling he "surrendered" because he feels it is a good time to go back and wallow in sympathy and a hand slap.

Feh.

BeastofBears

09-28-2009, 10:29 AM

I've been told I have a suspicious mind.

1/2 way through the first trial of OJ Simpson I said that he was going to get off, that the prosecution was deliberately throwing the game (see my comments on various threads in the OJ Simpson section), and everybody said "Naa, what a theory!"

I also said in the months before he was assassinated that PM Rabin would be assassinated by a co-religionist, and everybody thought I was losing it.

(Which is why I am afraid for President Obama, the pattern is identical, but that's a thread for the political forums that I frequent)

A co-religionist? Or you mean, an angry left who thinks he's too moderate?

But as for the Polanski thing, I think my opinion on the anti-American part comes from all the times I have had Europeans tell me that I just had such a provincial American outlook on what he did (hello, she was 13? If that being wrong is "provincial" I am happy to be backwater!)

Marian Paroo

09-28-2009, 11:43 AM

BeastofBears

09-28-2009, 12:19 PM

Oh, I meant PM Rabin was assassinated by a co-religionist of mine.

I certainly don't expect President Obama to be assassinated by a co-religionist of mine!

I've travelled around too, but never met anyone who condoned rape, but met a lot of people who will ready to forgive "genius."

Or "piety" for that matter. Here some very nasty rapists have had their sentences shortened by finding "religion."

But I do think the change in the administration in the USA has influenced the willingness of European countries to send back Americans on the run (again, I still think this whole thing is show directed by Polanski, and we will find out that he himself "arranged" his being shipped back at this opportune time).

LOL! I think we crossed wires! I thought Rabin was killed by a co-religionist of his, and wondered if that's what you meant by the Obama reference, that a co-religionist of HIS was a potential problem.

It would be kind of funny if Polanski is being sent back because of the new administration, since that has absolutely nothing to do with the California justice system. But maybe they don't know that?

I've thought about it and I don't think this was orchestrated. It's actually not an opportune time because we have recently had high-profile child sex cases, like Jaycee Dugard, and everyone is feeling not very fluffy about people who have sex with kids in California. And the Susan Atkins thing? Barely any coverage and its all gone now. Time will tell, though...

samanthajane13

09-28-2009, 12:36 PM

Lawyer: Polanski will fight extradition to the US

ZURICH – The French lawyer for Roman Polanski says the director will fight a request for his extradition from Switzerland to the United States to face justice in a 32-year-old sex case.

Herve Temime says Polanski has "refused the extradition request" and that a Swiss lawyer for the 76-year-old director will file a motion for his release from Swiss custody.

Temime said in an e-mailed statement Monday that the U.S. extradition request was "illegal."

Polanski was arrested Saturday as he arrived in Zurich to accept an award from a film festival. The U.S. is seeking him for pleading guilty to having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl and fleeing to France a year later.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090928/ap_on_en_mo/eu_switzerland_polanski

Marian Paroo

09-28-2009, 12:53 PM

Well, we shall see who is reading it correctly.

But first we need to see him on the plane to the USA.

It'll be interesting to see how the Israeli press covers this.

And the gang at work tomorrow.

Marian Paroo

09-28-2009, 12:56 PM

Whatever.

I am still adhearing to the idea that it's being directed by Polanski because he thinks the timing is good for him

Bottom line I want to see him in the States before the judge for sentencing.

lorettalockhorn

09-28-2009, 02:19 PM

Samantha Geimer, Polanski's victim, doesn't back prison time for the director

Roman Polanski's efforts to have a 30-year-old rape conviction dropped has an unlikely advocate in his victim, Samantha Geimer.
Geimer was 13 years old when Polanski allegedly plied the aspiring model with Champagne and Quaaludes and told her he was photographing her for French Vogue. The 1977 incident occurred in a bedroom in Jack Nicholson's house. Actress Anjelica Huston, who was also in the home, was a potential witness. Polanski was arrested in L.A. and pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. He then fled to France.

Geimer, now a mother of four, has said repeatedly and publicly that she thinks Polanski was treated unfairly and expressed a desire for the case to be resolved without prison time.

When Polanski sought to have the rape charge dismissed in 2008, she told The Times she welcomed an opportunity finally to end the case. "It's been a long time," she said. "I don't wish for him to be held to further punishment or consequences."

In 2003, she wrote an Op/Ed piece for The Times saying the case should not be a barrier to him winning an Academy Award:

Now that he's been nominated for an Academy Award, it's all being reopened. I'm being asked: Should he be given the award? Should he be rewarded for his behavior? Should he be allowed back into the United States after fleeing 25 years ago? Here's the way I feel about it: I don't really have any hard feelings toward him, or any sympathy, either. He is a stranger to me. But I believe that Mr. Polanski and his film should be honored according to the quality of the work. What he does for a living and how good he is at it have nothing to do with me or what he did to me. I don't think it would be fair to take past events into consideration. I think that the academy members should vote for the movies they feel deserve it. Not for people they feel are popular.

Polanski ended up winning best director for "The Pianist."

She could not immediately be reached for comment on the director's arrest in Zurich. He's in Swiss police custody awaiting extradition to Los Angeles after being arrested there in connection with the rape case.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/polanskis-cause-has-a-backer-in-his-victim-.html

Marian Paroo

09-28-2009, 02:33 PM

... if victim statements are allowed. She can do "the quality of mercy is not strained" schtick then. It would be her right.

That doesn't mean she can ask for the verdict to be reversed. That is not her right.

lorettalockhorn

09-28-2009, 04:13 PM

... If victim statements are allowed. She can do "the quality of mercy is not strained" schtick then. It would be her right.

That doesn't mean she can ask for the verdict to be reversed. That is not her right.

amen

samanthajane13

09-28-2009, 11:16 PM

Polanski arrest puts latest film `Ghost' on hold
By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer David Germain, Ap Movie Writer – 1 hr 50 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Roman Polanski's arrest in Switzerland has left his latest film in limbo, with several months of work before the political thriller is ready for theaters.

Polanski's agent, International Creative Management chief Jeff Berg, said Polanski had completed much of the editing on "The Ghost." But other post-production work, including music scoring and sound mixing, had yet to be done, Berg said.

Based on the provocative novel by Robert Harris, "The Ghost" stars Pierce Brosnan as fictional former British leader Adam Lang and Ewan McGregor as a ghostwriter hired to help complete his memoirs. The cast includes Kim Cattrall, Tom Wilkinson, Olivia Williams and James Belushi.

The novel caused a stir in Britain for Lang's resemblance to former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Like Blair, Lang is a once-popular leader brought down by his allegiance with the United States in the war on terror.

While the film does not yet have a U.S. deal, it has distribution in many overseas territories, among them Germany, where it was shot early this year, and France, where Polanski lives. He fled America in 1978 after pleading guilty to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles.

Polanski was arrested over the weekend in Zurich, where he had traveled to receive a lifetime achievement award from a film festival. His lawyer said Polanski will fight U.S. attempts to have him returned to the United States.

"The Ghost" is the first Polanski movie with a U.S. setting since 1974's "Chinatown." Locations in Germany had to stand in for the story's New England settings.

"There's a lot of psychological intrigue in the story, as well as espionage and politics, and most of the action takes place in an oceanfront house during the middle of winter — all of it classic Polanski territory," Harris said when the film was announced in 2007.

Berg said Polanski usually finishes his films before lining up U.S. distribution, so the completed movie can be shopped around.

"There is always interest in movies that Roman distributes," Berg said. "It should be accepted on its own merits, but we feel highly confident we'll find proper distribution."

Polanski's films include the horror hit "Rosemary's Baby," the costume drama "Tess" and the Holocaust saga "The Pianist," which earned him the 2002 Academy Award for best director.

A Holocaust survivor himself, Polanski has endured other dire trauma, including the murder of his pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, by followers of cult figure Charles Manson in 1969.

With Polanski jailed, it's unknown when work might resume on "The Ghost." Berg said he is confident Polanski will put his legal troubles behind him and finish the film.

"I'm always optimistic when it comes to Roman," Berg said. "He's strong, and he has survived every situation imaginable."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090929/ap_en_ot/us_polanski_new_film

samanthajane13

09-28-2009, 11:18 PM

LA prosecutors: Polanski efforts go back decades
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney, Ap Entertainment Writer – 1 hr 11 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – With Roman Polanski under arrest in Switzerland, American prosecutors Monday disputed a claim by the director that they had never tried to nab him after he fled overseas to escape sentencing on charges he had sex with an underage girl.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said it had multiple contacts with several countries in efforts to arrest the Academy Award-winning filmmaker, including once with Israel as recently as 2007.

Polanski's arrest in Switzerland on Saturday sparked an international outcry from prominent European supporters and drew questions about why American authorities chose to act now even though Polanski has been living and working openly in Europe for decades.

In a statement, authorities challenged recent court filings by Polanski's lawyers that suggested he had not been arrested because doing so could draw attention to alleged misconduct by prosecutors.

"The District Attorney's Office in the 30 years since Mr. Polanski left the jurisdiction, has not once sought to have him extradited," the attorneys wrote in a July filing. "If it had, there would have been a hearing regarding the misconduct in this case."

Jean Rosenbluth, a University of Southern California law professor and a former federal prosecutor, said Polanski's allegations "probably brought him back onto the prosecutor's radar screen. The only way to resolve this is to have Mr. Polanski come back here."

"Prosecutors are people too. If you thumb your nose at them, they might thumb their nose back," she said.

She questioned prosecutors' decision to discuss the steps they took.

"I think it's a lose-lose situation," she said. "When the public sees gaps of years between instances, I don't think the public will feel they were trying that hard."

Polanski's agent, Jeff Berg, said he was aware of no efforts to arrest Polanski before Saturday.

The timing of the director's arrest "certainly appears unusual," Berg said, especially since Polanski spent the summer at his house in Switzerland.

Polanski, who has been shooting "The Ghost" in Germany for the past six months, was in plain sight, Berg added.

"How hard would it be to find someone shooting a major film in a European country?" Berg asked. "He travels with transparency across Europe. It makes no sense."

The director had pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl while photographing her during a modeling session.

He was sent to prison for 42 days but then the judge tried to renege on the plea bargain. On the day of his sentencing in 1978, aware the judge would sentence him to more prison time, Polanski fled to France.

Prosecutors released a list of their efforts to nab Polanski after he left the United States. Those efforts included requesting arrest warrants in England, Thailand, France and Israel since 1978.

Polanski has been the subject of an INTERPOL "red notice" for years, said Chief Inspector Thomas Hession of the U.S. Marshals Service, which has a Los Angeles-based task force that requested the Polanski warrant last week.

The notice tells other countries that the person is wanted for a specific crime, and that the U.S. is willing to seek that person's extradition if the suspect is caught.

Hession said Polanski's arrest came now because authorities had the advance knowledge and the opportunity. He denied any suggestion law enforcement officials passed over similar opportunities in previous years.

"The idea that we have known where he is and we could have gotten him anytime, that just isn't the case," Hession said. "We have to do it legally. We have to know somebody is in that location before we ask that country to do something."

In a February 2005 deposition, Deputy District Attorney Richard Doyle, one of three Los Angeles prosecutors who has handled the director's case, said he believed Polanski knew how to evade arrest.

"He knows where he can go. He knows where he can't go," Doyle said. "He's been a careful man all these years."

On Monday, France and Poland urged Switzerland to free him on bail and pressed U.S. officials all the way up to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Polanski has told Swiss officials that he will contest a U.S. request that he be returned to the United States.

"He was shocked, dumbfounded, but he is in a fighting mood and he is very determined to defend himself," Polanski attorney Herve Temime said in an e-mail.

Temime said Polanski's legal team would try to prove that the American extradition request was illegal and that the Oscar-winning director should be released from Swiss custody.

Berg said he had spoken with Polanski's wife, who said her husband remains strong and optimistic.

"I think he would like to close this chapter," Berg said.

He added that Polanski does not have interest in working in the United States, primarily because his family is in Europe and there are plenty of filmmaking opportunities there.

Polanski seems likely to spend several months in detention while a complicated legal process plays out.

Under a 1990 accord between Switzerland and the United States, Washington has 60 days to submit a formal transfer request, which must first be examined by the Swiss Justice Ministry and can be appealed at a number of courts.

Polanski has asked a California appeals court to overturn a judge's refusal to throw out his case. He claims misconduct by the now-deceased judge who had arranged a plea bargain and then reneged on it.

The director's attorneys also sought to have the case tossed out after the release of the HBO documentary, "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," detailed the judge's actions.

If he is returned to Los Angeles, Polanski could continue his fight for dismissal. A Superior Court judge has already stated his belief there was "substantial misconduct" in the handling of the original case, but the effort has been stymied by Polanski's fugitive status.

Polanski could also seek to withdraw his guilty plea, a move that would hamper prosecutors' efforts to continue with the case.

Prosecutors have declined to say what sentence they would seek if Polanski comes before the court.

And Polanski's victim, who is now an adult and married, has asked for the case to be dismissed. She cannot be forced to testify against the director.

"Nothing gets better with age from the perspective of the prosecution," said Robin Sax, a former deputy district attorney in Los Angeles who prosecuted sex crimes. "Time only weakens prosecutions."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090929/ap_en_ot/eu_switzerland_polanski

samanthajane13

09-28-2009, 11:23 PM

Roman Polanski's Arrest: Why the French Are Outraged
By BRUCE CRUMLEY / PARIS Bruce Crumley / Paris Mon Sep 28, 5:05 pm ET

Although the cultural divide between Europe and the U.S. has narrowed over the years, the legal fate of director Roman Polanski shows there are still major differences. Polanski's arrest in Switzerland on Sept. 26 was greeted with satisfaction in the U.S., where authorities hope he will face sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. Europeans, meanwhile, are shocked and dismayed that an internationally acclaimed artist could be jailed for such an old offense.

"To see him thrown to the lions and put in prison because of ancient history - and as he was traveling to an event honoring him - is absolutely horrifying," French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said after Polanski was arrested upon arrival in Switzerland to attend the Zurich Film Festival, where he was to receive a lifetime achievement award. "There's an America we love and an America that scares us, and it's that latter America that has just shown us its face." In comments that appeared to be directed at Swiss and American authorities to free Polanski, Mitterrand added that both he and French President Nicolas Sarkozy hoped for a "rapid resolution to the situation which would allow Roman Polanski to rejoin his family as quickly as possible."

Polanski, who won an Academy Award in 2003 for directing The Pianist, admitted to having unlawful sexual intercourse with 13-year-old Samantha Geimer as part of a plea bargain in which other charges - including drugging and raping the girl - were dropped. However, fearful that the Los Angeles judge in the case was about to renege on the deal and slap him with a long prison sentence, Polanski fled the U.S. in 1978 and never returned. He has spent the past 30 years in France, where he has raised a family and continued his career unhindered. That is, until Saturday. Swiss police seized Polanski on an international warrant issued by U.S. authorities in 2005 and, under bilateral treaties, will now extradite him to the U.S. unless barred from doing so by Swiss courts.

France never complied with the arrest warrant because its laws prohibit the extradition of its citizens to other countries. At the same time, many people in France have over the years downplayed the gravity of Polanski's crime because of his immense talent and artistry as a director. The 76-year-old, who was born in France, has increasingly been seen as the victim of an obsessive U.S. justice system that is ready to pluck him up and drag him off to prison at any moment. Those feelings were reinforced by the 2008 documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, in which filmmaker Marina Zenovich argues that the judge and prosecutor in the case may have engaged in legal misconduct in obtaining Polanski's guilty plea. The film also contains an appeal by Geimer, the victim, for Polanski to be pardoned - leaving his European supporters perplexed as to why U.S. officials wouldn't finally close the book on him.

"The French view Polanski as an artist and celebrity and feel he deserves a different kind of treatment than ordinary people, which just isn't an option in the U.S.," says Ted Stanger, an author and longtime resident of France who has written extensively on the differing public views and attitudes across the Atlantic. "The French in particular, and Europeans in general, don't understand why it isn't possible for American officials to intervene and say, 'Hey, it's been over 30 years and things look a little different now. Let's just forget this thing.' "

Indeed, police in other European countries have turned a blind eye to Polanski's travel across the continent for work and pleasure over the years. The director has even made frequent visits to Switzerland in the past without any problem. His supporters claim that Swiss authorities finally caved in to U.S. pressure to nab the director. But Swiss and U.S. justice officials say they knew where he would be thanks to press releases by the Zurich Film Festival touting his presence to accept the award. "There was a valid arrest request, and we knew when he was coming. That's why he was taken into custody," says Guido Balmer, spokesman for Switzerland's Justice Ministry. Adds Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office: "It wasn't a big secret that he was going to be in Zurich - they had announced it on the Internet."

As Polanski's fans across Europe decry his detention, his lawyers say they're filing appeals of both his arrest and eventual transfer to the U.S. "To the French mind, this has made Polanski a combination of Oscar Wilde and Alfred Dreyfus - the victim of systematic persecution," Stanger says. "To the American mind, he's proof that no one is above the law." That's a perception gap as wide as the Atlantic.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090928/wl_time/08599192650800

samanthajane13

09-29-2009, 01:30 PM

Polanski asks Swiss court to free him from custody
By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER and ERNST E. ABEGG, Associated Press Writers Bradley S. Klapper And Ernst E. Abegg, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 2 mins ago

ZURICH – Lawyers for Roman Polanski filed a motion in court Tuesday asking that the Oscar-winning director be released from Swiss custody — the first step in his legal battle to avoid extradition to the United States for a 1977 statutory rape case.

The Swiss Federal Criminal Court announced the filing and said "the decision will be made within the next weeks."

Legal experts predicted the 76-year-old filmmaker will not be freed anytime soon from the prison in Zurich, for he is expected to stay incarcerated through the verdict and through any appeal from either side. Then, in a separate legal operation, he must contest an expected U.S. extradition request that has not yet been received by the Swiss.

The criminal court will decide on the legality of the American request for Polanski's apprehension, Swiss Justice Ministry spokesman Guido Balmer told The Associated Press. The Justice Ministry and Polanski could later seek to overturn any decision at Switzerland's highest court, the Federal Tribunal.

"We will examine the ruling and then decide what we will do," Balmer said, refusing to speculate on how long Polanski would remain in jail.

While the director's lawyers were hoping he could get out on bail or under house arrest, Dieter Jann, a former Zurich prosecutor, said Polanski had no chance of an immediate release.

"In Switzerland, no," Jann told The AP, adding that the extradition would be very hard to fight and he thought Switzerland had followed procedures correctly.

"The extradition department at the Justice Ministry had no other choice," he said. "This was in no way an exceptional case. It is normal to follow up on tips from investigators and to inform border control."

Polanski, a dual Polish and French citizen, was arrested Saturday as he arrived in Zurich to receive an award from a film festival. The United States has been seeking his extradition for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

The motion filed Tuesday by the director's newly hired Swiss lawyers was accompanied by proposals for bail and "guarantees," Polanski's French lawyer Herve Temime said. He would not elaborate on those, but added that house arrest at the director's Swiss chalet in Gstaad was one option.

"Our first concern, and principle concern, is that Mr. Polanski be set free" from jail while "remaining on Swiss territory," Temime told reporters at the Justice Palace in Paris. "He has a chalet in Switzerland. He would naturally accept to be placed under house arrest."

The Swiss Justice Ministry did not rule out the possibility that Polanski could be released on bail under very strict conditions that he doesn't flee Switzerland, but said house arrest had never happened before in a similar case.

"In most cases the imprisoned person has to remain in detention for the whole process," explained Peter Cosandey, another former Zurich prosecutor.

"The chances that he will be exempted from prison are rather small," he added, because Polanski wasn't a Swiss citizen or a permanent resident and had already jumped bail years ago in the United States.

Authorities in Los Angeles consider Polanski a convicted felon and fugitive, and a Swiss justice official said there has been an international arrest warrant out on him since 2005.

Polanski, who directed "Chinatown," "Rosemary's Baby" and the Oscar-winning "The Pianist," had pleaded guilty to having unlawful sexual intercourse in 1977 with the underage girl. He was sent to prison for 42 days, but the judge tried to renege on the plea bargain. On the day of his sentencing in 1978, aware the judge would sentence him to more prison time, Polanski fled to France.

Under Swiss law, the United States has 60 days to file a formal extradition request. That is first examined by the Swiss Justice Ministry, and once approved, it can be appealed at a number of courts.

Polanski's agent, Jeff Berg, appearing Tuesday on NBC's "Today" show, said he did not understand why such a long-standing case was being pursued now. The director has lived in France for decades, often stayed in Gstaad, has traveled widely and filmed his latest movie, "The Ghost," in Germany.

"His lawyers were advised that extradition was not being sought in the past. I'm not sure why this has presented itself today," Berg said.

Swiss officials say it was the first time that they had received solid enough information from the United States so they could make an arrest.

"Last week, we received precise information when and where he would arrive, enabling us to make the arrest. That was the first time," Balmer said.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office, however, said it had multiple contacts with several countries as it tried to arrest the Academy Award-winning filmmaker, including one with Israel as recently as 2007. It said those efforts included requesting arrest warrants in England, Thailand, France and Israel since 1978.

The effort with France was futile because France does not extradite its citizens.

The French and Polish foreign ministers have pressed the Swiss to free him on bail, and contacted U.S. officials all the way up to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to get U.S. justice officials to drop the case.

French officials in particular have been horrified by the U.S. and Swiss actions, with Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand saying the director had been "thrown to the lions."

Yet on Tuesday, Poland's prime minister urged his Cabinet ministers to use greater restraint in defending Polanski, reminding them that it is a "case of rape and of punishment for having sex with a child."

The Swiss Justice Ministry has insisted that politics played no role in the arrest, which was prompted by a request from the U.S. Marshals Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, which includes the Los Angeles Police Department. The U.S. State and Justice departments had to sign off on the request before it was sent.

Polanski has asked a U.S. appeals court in California to overturn a judges' refusal to throw out his case. He claims misconduct by the now-deceased judge who had arranged a plea bargain and then reneged on it.

His victim, Samantha Geimer, who long ago identified herself, has joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal.

An HBO documentary, "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," has suggested there was behind-the-scenes manipulations by a now-retired prosecutor not assigned to the case.

A native of France who was taken to Poland by his parents, Polanski escaped Krakow's Jewish ghetto as a child during World War II and lived off the charity of strangers. His mother died at the Nazis' Auschwitz death camp.

Polanski has lived for the past three decades in France, where his career has continued to flourish; he received a directing Oscar in absentia for the 2002 movie "The Pianist." He and his wife, French actress Emmanuelle Seigner, have two children.

The arrest has left Polanski's latest film — "The Ghost" — in limbo, with several months of work before the political thriller is ready for theaters.

Berg, his agent, said the director had completed much of the editing but the film still needed music scoring and sound mixing. Based on the novel by Robert Harris, "The Ghost" stars Pierce Brosnan as a fictional British leader and Ewan McGregor as the politician's ghostwriter.

___

Klapper reported from Geneva. AP Movie Writer David Germain and Entertainment Writer Anthony McCartney in Los Angeles also contributed to this story.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090929/ap_en_ce/eu_switzerland_polanski

samanthajane13

09-29-2009, 07:51 PM

Swiss choose law over neutrality, arrest Polanski
By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press Writer Bradley S. Klapper, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 2 mins ago

GENEVA – First numbered bank accounts and now Roman Polanski. Switzerland is no longer a place for foreign fugitives and tax evaders to live above the law.

Polanski's arrest for extradition to the United States in a 31-year-old statutory rape case was just the latest crack in the Alpine nation's cherished legacy as a safe haven, and it set off widespread anger across the country.

"Swiss neutrality is about not taking sides," said Julien Grollier, a Geneva resident. "They're doing a favor for the United States that they wouldn't do for another country.

Another Swiss citizen put his anguish at Polanski's arrest more bluntly.

"I'm ashamed to be Swiss," said Ernest Scherrsz, the Grand Palace Hotel owner in Gstaad, where the 76-year-old Polanski owned his chalet.

Polanski's attorneys on Tuesday asked that the director be released from custody, the first step in a legal battle to avoid extradition to the U.S. to face sentencing for having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

His arrest comes as the country is identifying to the U.S. thousands of American tax cheats at bank UBS AG, a first-ever deal that pried open Swiss banking secrecy. The accord was reached only after heavy legal and political pressure from Washington.

The anger surrounding the moves is not a simple case of America-bashing or defending an internationally acclaimed artist whose tragic past includes losing his mother at Auschwitz and an eight-month pregnant wife in a crazed attack by the Charles Manson cult.

The Swiss criticism largely stems from an inherent fear of losing sovereignty and a tradition of restrained governance that places a supreme value on individual rights.

The famously independent Swiss have fought off foreign invaders for centuries, and still credit their neutrality for escaping invasion from neighboring Nazi Germany during World War II.

From the center of the continent they have rebuffed the European Union, and welcomed in recent decades countless political refugees and famous cultural figures such as Charlie Chaplin, who found a home here after he was refused re-entry into the United States in 1952 over charges he associated with Communists.

It also bucked Washington in the 1980s when the U.S. sought the extradition of Marc Rich, the fugitive trader known as the "King of Commodities" who was controversially pardoned in 2001 by Bill Clinton just hours before he left office as U.S. president.

Rich fled the U.S. for Switzerland in 1983 after he was indicted by a federal grand jury on more than 50 counts of fraud, racketeering, trading with Iran during the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis and evading more than $48 million in income taxes.

Switzerland didn't regard tax evasion as a crime and, as a neutral country, didn't have any embargo against Iran. It refused to treat Rich — a billionaire trader in oil, metals and other commodities — as a crook or hand him over to the United States despite strong diplomatic pressure. He remains there today.

Switzerland's independent streak has faded in recent years as globalization made it increasingly difficult to preserve its lofty perch of isolation.

In 2002, it finally joined the United Nations and has been forced to tighten its venerated banking secrecy laws after a series of international flaps over dictator cash, Jews who couldn't access their Holocaust-era accounts and, most recently, wealthy Americans who stashed billions of dollars in UBS.

It has become a world leader in returning potentate money, sending back hundreds of millions in Swiss accounts linked to dictators, including the late Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines. And reforms — prompted by foreign pressure — have made it much harder to open up confidential accounts from abroad.

"We don't make any difference between criminal acts," said Guido Balmer, spokesman for the Swiss Justice Ministry. "The basic principle is whether the act is criminally punishable in both countries."

Balmer said Polanski's case is different from Rich's because sex with a minor is a criminal offense in Switzerland and the United States. But coming so shortly after a U.S.-Swiss deal to help U.S. authorities prosecute nearly 5,000 American account holders, a number of politicians weren't so sure.

"Maybe Switzerland wanted to serve the United States," Green Party chief Ueli Leuenberger noted on the radio panel providing a rare moment of accord between Switzerland's main right-wing and left-wing parties.

Jean Ziegler, a former Socialist politician and author who advises the United Nations on human rights issues, called the arrest a "political action."

"The government is so traumatized by the IRS and whole UBS scandal," said Ziegler, a frequent critic of the U.S. government and Swiss banks. "If any American authority asks for anything in Switzerland, they get it in 24 hours. They could call and say 'Please send the gold of your national bank to America,' and (the government) would do it right away."

Balmer called Polanski's arrest and incarceration a "legal process" and said the government had not been affected by lingering tension with American authorities. Similarly, he said it would not be swayed by pressure from France and Poland, where the filmmaker has citizenship and whose foreign minister have sharply criticized Switzerland for the arrest.

A number of questions remained. Polanski's friends and lawyers note that he has spent long periods of time at a chalet he owns in the luxury resort of Gstaad, and he was in Switzerland for an extended period this summer.

Asked why Polanski was not apprehended then, Balmer said the question was irrelevant.

"Last week, we received precise information when and where he would arrive, enabling us to make the arrest. That was the first time," he told the AP. He would not comment further on previous contacts with U.S. justice officials.

Ziegler said celebrities would now think twice before traveling or relocating to Switzerland if the government has "no choice" but to arrest people when asked by powerful governments like the United States.

"The Swiss image as such in the world will suffer," he said.

Their were some dissenting views, however, especially among Swiss legal experts.

"The extradition department at the Justice Ministry had no other choice," said Dieter Jann, a former Zurich prosecutor. "This was in no way an exceptional case. It is normal to follow up on tips from investigators and to inform border control."

____

Associated Press writer Eliane Engeler in Geneva and Balz Bruppacher in Bern, Switzerland, contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090929/ap_on_re_eu/eu_switzerland_unsafe_haven

samanthajane13

09-30-2009, 03:06 AM

Polanski asks Swiss court to free him from custody
By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER and ERNST E. ABEGG, Associated Press Writers Bradley S. Klapper And Ernst E. Abegg, Associated Press Writers – Tue Sep 29, 6:36 pm ET

ZURICH – Roman Polanski's legal team fired the first shot Tuesday in a lengthy battle over his possible extradition to the United States, asking a Swiss court to release the famous filmmaker from prison immediately.

The Swiss Federal Criminal Court announced the filing and said a decision would be made "within the next weeks," but experts said a swift release was unlikely, and it appeared that the 76-year-old director could remain in jail for at least a few months.

Even if the court rules in Polanski's favor, the decision would probably be appealed immediately by the Swiss government, extending his incarceration in a Zurich cell.

Meanwhile in Poland, the prime minister urged restraint after two days of heated calls from government officials for Polanski's release. French leaders who had also been outspoken in support of the filmmaker said their consul had visited him in detention.

Authorities in Los Angeles consider Polanski a convicted felon and a fugitive, and Switzerland says there has been an international arrest warrant out on him since 2005.

Polanski was accused of plying a 13-year-old girl with champagne and Quaaludes during a modeling shoot in 1977 and raping her. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.

Facing life in prison if convicted, he agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse.

In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and commute his sentence to the 42 days already served. But Polanski fled the country Feb. 1, 1978, the day he was scheduled to be sentenced, after learning that the judge told lawyers he planned to tack on more prison time.

Experts predicted that Polanski had little hope of winning his freedom in Switzerland. On top of the court proceedings his team initiated Tuesday, Polanski will also have to face a formal U.S. extradition request that has not yet been received by the Swiss. Washington can wait until late November to make its filing.

The criminal court will decide on the legality of the American request for Polanski's apprehension. The Justice Ministry and Polanski could later seek to overturn any decision at Switzerland's highest court, the Federal Tribunal.

"We will examine the ruling and then decide what we will do," Swiss Justice Ministry spokesman Guido Balmer told The Associated Press. He refused to speculate on how long Polanski would remain in jail.

While the director's lawyers were hoping he could get out on bail or under house arrest, a former Zurich prosecutor said Polanski had no chance of an immediate release. Dieter Jann said extradition would be hard to fight, and he thought Switzerland had followed procedures correctly.

Polanski, a dual Polish and French citizen, directed "Chinatown," "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Pianist," for which he won a best-director Oscar. He was arrested Saturday as he arrived in Zurich to receive an award from a film festival.

While initial French support for Polanski seemed strong, it became clear on Tuesday that many in France opposed the government's position.

Marc Laffineur, vice president of the National Assembly and a member of President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right party, criticized government ministers for speaking out too quickly in the filmmaker's defense, saying the charges against Polanski should not be taken lightly. Several other top politicians spoke out, too.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk also weighed in, urging his Cabinet ministers to exercise calm and reminding them that it is a "case of rape and of punishment for having sex with a child."

The request filed Tuesday by the director's newly hired Swiss lawyers was accompanied by proposals for bail and "guarantees," Polanski's French attorney Herve Temime said. He would not elaborate, but added that house arrest at the director's chalet in Gstaad was one option.

The Swiss Justice Ministry did not rule out the possibility that Polanski could be released on bail under strict conditions, but said house arrest had never happened before in a similar case.

"In most cases the imprisoned person has to remain in detention for the whole process," explained Peter Cosandey, another former Zurich prosecutor.

"The chances that he will be exempted from prison are rather small," he added, because Polanski is not a Swiss citizen or a permanent resident and had already jumped bail years ago in the United States.

Polanski's victim, Samantha Geimer, who long ago publicly identified herself, has joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal. She testified at the time that Polanski forced himself on her — which he acknowledged in his guilty plea — but has said she forgives him and wants the ordeal over.

Polanski's lawyers recently filed for dismissal, based on misconduct allegations in a 2008 HBO documentary that suggested behind-the-scenes manipulations by the now-deceased judge and a prosecutor not assigned to the case.

The judge handling the request acknowledged "substantial misconduct" in the original case, but dismissed the defense filing earlier this year because Polanski was a fugitive; it's now in the hands of an appeals court.

___

Klapper reported from Geneva. Associated Press writers David Germain and Anthony McCartney in Los Angeles, and Angela Doland in Paris and Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, also contributed to this story.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090929/ap_en_ot/eu_switzerland_polanski

BeastofBears

10-02-2009, 01:29 PM

Jack Webb + Roman Polanski= classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIZ_wEXiAoc

samanthajane13

10-03-2009, 02:11 PM

Polanski agreed to $500,000 payment in civil suit
By GREG RISLING, Associated Press Writer Greg Risling, Associated Press Writer – Sat Oct 3, 4:18 am ET

LOS ANGELES – Film director Roman Polanski agreed to pay his sexual assault victim $500,000 to settle a lawsuit 15 years after he fled the United States, according to court documents

Polanski and the victim, Samantha Geimer, reached the deal in October 1993. The terms of the settlement were confidential, but the amount was disclosed in court documents because of a two-year struggle to get Polanski to pay.

Court records, which were provided to media outlets Friday, do not indicate if Polanski ever paid. The last court filing in August 1996 shows Polanski, now 76, owed Geimer $604,416.22, including interest.

Polanski's attorney, David Finkle, said he couldn't remember details of the case and declined comment.

"It's ancient," Finkle said.

A phone message left for Geimer's attorney, Lawrence Silver, wasn't immediately returned. Geimer and her family also have not returned calls this week seeking comment.

Polanski was accused of plying Geimer, then a 13-year-old girl, with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill during a modeling shoot in 1977 and raping her. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.

Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse and a judge sent him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation. However, he was released after 42 days by an evaluator who deemed him mentally sound and unlikely to offend again.

The judge responded by saying he was going to send Polanski back to jail for the remainder of the 90 days and that afterward he would ask Polanski to agree to a "voluntary deportation." Polanski then fled the country the night before he was scheduled to be sentenced, Feb. 1, 1978.

Polanski, who won an Academy Award for best director for "The Pianist," was arrested last weekend in Switzerland on a fugitive warrant in the case.

Geimer, who long ago identified herself, sued Polanski in December 1988 when she was 25 years old, alleging sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and seduction. She has since joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal and has forgiven him.

In a December 1995 filing, Silver said "defendant has failed to pay any part of the sum due or the interest due on the attached note." Silver added that he talked to Finkle, who agreed Polanski was in default.

Silver then sought some of Polanski's earnings by canvassing Hollywood for his wages. Among those who were contacted about Polanski were the Directors Guild of America, International Creative Management, Warner Bros. Inc. and Sony Studios.

ICM head and Polanski agent Jeff Berg declined comment.

If Polanski hasn't paid over the past 14 years, it's unclear if he would have to pay interest. The court documents state he'd owe $128.42 per day, for a total of about $650,000.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091003/ap_en_mo/us_polanski_settlement

lorettalockhorn

10-04-2009, 09:43 PM

Hollywood Justice

The rush to support Roman Polanski shows how isolated the entertainment industry is from the rest of the world.

If I were Roman Polanski, I wouldn't care to see Woody Allen's name at the head of a petition calling for my release from jail on statutory-rape charges. On the other hand, I doubt that any of the other Hollywood celebrities who rushed to defend Mr. Polanski will carry much more weight with the public officials who may soon decide whether the director of "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" must do time for having had "unlawful sexual intercourse" with a teenage girl in 1977. No matter who his friends are, Mr. Polanski is in deep trouble—and it's getting deeper by the day.

Unless you've been vacationing in Antarctica, you probably know that Mr. Polanski, who pleaded guilty in a Los Angeles court 32 years ago but then jumped bail and fled to France before being sentenced, was arrested last Saturday in Switzerland, where he had gone to receive the Zurich Film Festival's "Golden Eye" award for lifetime achievement. The arrest was made at the specific request of the U.S. Justice Department. Mr. Polanski is a French citizen, and the French authorities have long refused to return him to this country for sentencing. That's just fine with Mr. Polanski. "I've been tortured by this for a year and that's enough," he told a BBC reporter in 1978. Now the U.S. is seeking to have him extradited from Switzerland, which is expected to oblige—unless the Justice Department changes its mind first.

Needless to say, the notion that great artists who stray from the paths of righteousness merit special treatment goes back a long, long way. At one time or another, it's been used to excuse just about every sin in the book. (If you doubt it, spend an hour or two with a biography of Richard Wagner or Pablo Picasso.) But there was a time when the film industry was less inclined to forgive those transgressions that its publicists were unable to cover up. Many a scandal similar to Mr. Polanski's was smothered in the bad old days of the studio system. At MGM, the fixer-in-chief was Howard Strickling, the studio's head of publicity, whose prowess at concealing bad behavior after the fact was as legendary as his tight-lipped discretion. Every star in the MGM sky learned the studio's mantra by heart: "If you get into trouble, don't call the police. Don't call the hospital. Don't call the lawyer. Call Howard." They did—and it usually worked.

If, on the other hand, your sins made the papers, you were on your own. Well into the '50s, movie stars, no matter how brightly they shone, were at the mercy of the "morals clause" tucked into their contracts: "The employee . . . will not do or commit any act or thing that will tend to degrade him in society or bring him into public hatred, contempt, scorn or ridicule, or that will tend to shock, insult or offend the community." Get caught doing any of those things and you wound up on the cutting-room floor—forever.

No more. Nowadays you practically have to kill somebody to get blacklisted in Hollywood. Mere rape, by contrast, scarcely jiggles the needle of outrage. Producer Harvey Weinstein actually went so far as to describe Mr. Polanski's odious conduct as a "so-called crime." The names of such noted filmmakers as Mr. Allen, Jonathan Demme, Michael Mann, Sam Mendes, Mike Nichols, Martin Scorsese and Steven Soderbergh can be found on an international petition whose 100-plus signers "demand the immediate release of Roman Polanski." Equally predictable was the response of European bureaucrats such as French culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand, who called Mr. Polanski's arrest "absolutely dreadful," adding that it made "no sense" for him to be "thrown to the lions for an ancient story."

We need not take the remonstrations of the French too seriously. They have a long history of forgiving their own artists for pretty much anything, up to and including open collaboration with the Nazis. Far more interesting was the response on this side of the Atlantic. At first, American reaction to the arrest appeared to be breaking along the usual red vs. blue fault lines, with much being made of the fact that Samantha Gailey, Mr. Polanski's victim, has said that she's forgiven him (though that didn't stop her from suing him in civil court in 1988—or from accepting an undisclosed out-of-court settlement to drop the suit).

But the cultural tide started to turn on Monday when Kate Harding, a contributor to Salon.com, wrote a column called "Reminder: Roman Polanski Raped a Child" in which she pointed out, bluntly and accurately, that Mr. Polanski "gave a 13-year-old girl a Quaalude and champagne, then raped her. . . . There is evidence that the victim did not consent, regardless of her age." Ms. Harding's piece included a link to the transcript of Ms. Gailey's 1977 grand-jury testimony, in which she described with gruesome explicitness the crime perpetrated on her person—a crime of which Mr. Polanski acknowledged his guilt in court.

Within hours, a fast-growing number of decidedly unusual suspects were admitting to having been shocked, insulted and offended by what Mr. Polanski had done. Among them was Eugene Robinson, one of the Washington Post's most liberal columnists, who declared that Mr. Polanski's crime "deserves harsher punishment than three decades of gilded exile." Katha Pollitt, a columnist for the Nation, a journal of left-wing opinion, went further still. "The widespread support for Polanski," she wrote on the magazine's blog, "shows the liberal cultural elite at its preening, fatuous worst. . . . No wonder Middle America hates them." Even in France, the public was so outraged that the French government hastened to change its official tune on Wednesday, sternly proclaiming Mr. Polanski to be "neither above nor beneath the law."

While most people in the movie business are sticking to the pro-Polanski line, a few have broken away from the herd of independent minds. Notable among them is Kevin Smith, the writer-director of such sexually frank indie films as "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy," who is as far from being a prig as you can get. Yet Mr. Smith tweeted about the Polanski arrest as follows: "Look, I dig 'Rosemary's Baby,' but rape's rape. Do the crime, do the time." And I wouldn't be at all surprised if a fair number of people who signed the "Free Polanski" petition had similarly heterodox thoughts after being reminded of exactly what he did.

Not, however, Harvey Weinstein. On Thursday he gave an interview to the Los Angeles Times that will live long in the annals of arrogance. Not only does Mr. Weinstein believe that Mr. Polanski should be set free at once, but he claims that "Hollywood has the best moral compass, because it has compassion. We were the people who did the fundraising telethon for the victims of 9/11. We were there for the victims of Katrina and any world catastrophe." That's the voice of a man who spends his days listening to toadies—and who knows nothing of the deeply felt beliefs of the ordinary people who pay their hard-earned money to see his pictures. I wonder how many of them will henceforth be inclined to steer by the compass of anyone who thinks that rape is a "so-called crime."

Mr. Weinstein is, of course, a moral idiot. But why did so many of Mr. Polanski's artistic peers rush to defend him? Is it really because "Chinatown" is so good? Perhaps, though I suspect it's at least as likely that certain of the people who signed the "Free Polanski" petition are also thinking of the skeletons in their own well-filled closets. Rich and famous people, after all, are accustomed to having their own way, no matter what it is or whom it hurts. (Ask David Letterman.) When one of their own gets caught in the act, their instinct is to circle the wagons...

continued below

lorettalockhorn

10-04-2009, 09:45 PM

...The unseemly rapidity with which Mr. Polanski's friends lined up to support him is also a demonstration of the extent to which Hollywood is isolated from the rest of the world. It's a company town, a place where the powerful can go for months at a time without hearing anyone disagree with them about anything. It was no joke when Mel Gussow gave the title "Don't Say Yes Until I Finish Talking" to his 1971 biography of Darryl F. Zanuck. Anyone who lives in a tightly sealed echo chamber of self-congratulation, surrounded by yes-men who are dedicated to doing what he wants, is bound to lose touch with reality sooner or later. Can there be any doubt that this is what has happened to the signers of the Polanski petition? Like Mr. Weinstein, they sincerely believe that whatever they think, say, do or want is right. In fact, I'm sure that most of them will be staggered to learn (assuming that their flunkies have the nerve to tell them) that when it comes to preying on teenage girls, most people think otherwise.

Be that as it may, let's suppose for the sake of argument that the petition's signers are motivated exclusively by the desire to see justice done. What might that mean in practice? The petition starts out by coolly dismissing Mr. Polanski's crime as "a case of morals" (i.e., no big deal) involving "one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers." It then goes on to argue that the Zurich Film Festival is an "extraterritorial" event held in a "neutral country" to which filmmakers should be allowed to travel "freely and safely," just as if they were doctors or diplomats. The implication is all too clear: No matter what he may have done in the past, Mr. Polanski is an artist and therefore ought to go free. Period.

I find this pseudoargument impossible to stomach, and I can't imagine that Mr. Polanski's fellow filmmakers would be similarly inclined to make it on behalf of a director of made-for-TV movies. But the quality of Mr. Polanski's films has nothing to do with the validity of the case for releasing him. The ability to make art—good, bad or indifferent—relieves no artist of his fundamental duties as a human being, the first and foremost of which is to treat his fellow humans decently, and allow himself to be held accountable if he does not. By his own admission, Mr. Polanski flunked both parts of that test three decades ago. Since then, he's been on an exceedingly cushy lam, living in a Paris penthouse and thumbing his nose at the rule of law. It's time for him to come home to Hollywood—voluntarily or not—and pay the price for what he did.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471504574448033489885784.html#a rticleTabs%3Dcomments

OMG@some of the comments

Seashell

10-05-2009, 09:14 AM

Hi girls! :seeya:
can someone on here find me the official police reoprt of that afwul rape? i am glad to see polanski has been arrested and i still remember when it happened and i think that even if 30+ years have gone by he needs to be taken to court and face the consequences.
I read somewhere else that he drugged and then raped the kid in a bathtub even though she said NO :mad:
i hope he rots in jail forever!

One2Snoop

10-05-2009, 02:41 PM

Seashell

10-05-2009, 03:50 PM

Have you tried "The Smoking Gun" website? It's affiliated with TruTv so there's a link for it at the very bottom of (any) page here under "More Links".

Thanks snoop, its disgusting how some are actually defending the creep :flamemad:

samanthajane13

10-06-2009, 04:20 PM

Polanski loses first round in extradition battle
By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER and BALZ BRUPPACHER, Associated Press Writers Bradley S. Klapper And Balz Bruppacher, Associated Press Writers – 10 mins ago

BERN, Switzerland – Roman Polanski lost the first round Tuesday in his battle to avoid extradition to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

Already locked in a Zurich cell for the last dozen days, Polanski learned he will remain incarcerated for an extended period as the Swiss Justice Ministry rejected his plea to be released from custody.

Swiss authorities expressed fear he might flee the country if freed from prison. The director of such film classics as "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown" has been wanted by U.S. authorities since fleeing sentencing 31 years ago.

"We continue to be of the opinion that there is a high risk of flight," said ministry spokesman Folco Galli, explaining the decision.

Galli told The Associated Press that the threat was too great for the government to accept bail or other security measures in exchange for the release of the filmmaker.

Polanski was apprehended Sept. 26 as he arrived in Zurich to receive an award from a film festival. Authorities in Los Angeles consider him a convicted felon and a fugitive, and Switzerland says there has been an international warrant out on him since 2005.

Polanski's legal representatives are also appealing to Switzerland's federal criminal court to free the director. Galli said the Justice Ministry has submitted a letter to the tribunal explaining why it opposes release even on bail.

Legal experts say Polanski stands a minimal chance of a speedy release, even if his lawyers have suggested he be held under house arrest in his chalet in the luxury resort of Gstaad.

"In practice, I don't remember any case where a fugitive has been released on bail while awaiting extradition to a foreign country," said former Zurich prosecutor Peter Cosandey, adding that Polanski's ownership of an Alpine chalet doesn't aid his case greatly.

"He could easily disappear," Cosandey told The AP, referring to Switzerland's lax border controls. "He could just hop on a train to Germany. Coming by plane, you're often just waived on. By car, it's even easier."

Dieter Jann, another Zurich ex-prosecutor, has said extradition would be hard to fight, and he thought Switzerland had followed procedures correctly.

In Paris, Polanski's lawyers took note of the decision and said they would focus on convincing the court to free Polanski.

"In particular, Mr. Polanski undertakes to remain in Switzerland for the duration of the extradition procedure, and to respect all obligations that could be imposed on him to guarantee this commitment," said a statement.

Polanski was accused of plying the underage girl with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill during a modeling shoot in 1977, and raping her. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.

He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse. In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sentence him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation.

However, he was released after 42 days by an evaluator who deemed him mentally sound and unlikely to offend again.

The judge responded by saying he was going to send Polanski back to jail for the remainder of the 90 days and that afterward he would ask Polanski to agree to a "voluntary deportation." Polanski then fled the country, on Feb. 1, 1978, the day he was scheduled to be sentenced to the additional time.

Galli confirmed that Washington has yet to file a formal request seeking extradition. But he said the U.S. probably wouldn't need its entire 60-day period to submit all documents.

"I assume this is a priority case in the United States," Galli said.

Polanski looks set to remain in prison for months as his case in the Swiss courts progresses. The criminal court has said it will rule on the filmmaker's request in the "next weeks," and a verdict in either direction can be appealed to the country's highest judicial body, the Federal Tribunal.

Galli said Polanski would remain in prison for the duration of this process.

Cosandey, an expert in international criminal cases, said Polanski's lawyers may seek to sway the court with promises such as a bail pledge as high as 1 million francs ($1 million).

"But it's hard to say if this will be successful," Cosandey said. "If the court just follows the formal treaty, he has to stay in prison. The fact that he's a prominent guy won't help him in Switzerland."

Polanski has received backing from directors and film stars in Hollywood and Europe, and from government officials in France and Poland, where he holds citizenship. But some of that support has waned since the original shock of his arrest, with leading French and Polish officials urging a more restrained reaction considering the crime.

In Switzerland, debate has raged among parliamentarians and cultural figures over the neutral country's role in arresting Polanski as he came to attend a government-backed festival. Few, however, have challenged the legality of his imprisonment and likely extradition.

Former Justice Minister Christoph Blocher said last week the director should have been warned — an assertion rejected by legal experts — but added that the case against Polanski now was quite simple and that he "must be extradited."

Polanski and the victim, Samantha Geimer, reached a $500,000 settlement in October 1993, according to documents recently released in Los Angeles.

Geimer, who long ago identified herself, sued Polanski in December 1988 when she was 25 years old, alleging sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and seduction. She has since joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal and has forgiven him.

___

Klapper reported from Geneva.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091006/ap_on_en_mo/eu_switzerland_polanski

lorettalockhorn

10-11-2009, 02:20 PM

Justice for Roman Polanski

By BY LEONARD PITTS JR. MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

LITTLE ROCK — Somebody please help me with this. Obviously, I’m missing something.

So we’ve got a 43-year-old man who takes a 13-year-old girl into a hot tub. According to the girl, this is what follows: He gives her part of a Quaalude and some champagne. He gets into the hot tub, naked. She flees to a bedroom. He follows. He puts his mouth to her vagina. He removes her panties. He asks if she is on the pill. She is not, and he asks if she wants him to penetrate her anally instead. She says no. He does anyway. During all this, she’s begging him to stop.

In court, he admits to having sex with the child. He admits he knew she was 13. He is indicted on six charges. To spare the child the pain of testifying, the DA agrees to let him plead guilty on a single lesser charge. The man spends 42 days behind bars for pre-sentencing diagnostic tests. In 1978, on the eve of his actual sentencing, he flees the country and takes refuge in France. He is finally arrested 31 years later.

And now he is the victim?!

I have no idea how anyone arrives at that conclusion. I could not arrive at that conclusion with a GPS navigator.

Yet the case of director Roman Polanski, now 76 and in a Swiss jail fighting extradition to the United States, has attracted a slew of highprofile defenders. French and Polish officials have condemned his arrest, which came last month at a film festival in Zurich. Filmmakers like Woody Allen, Jonathan Demme, Michael Mann and Martin Scorsese are reported to have signed a petition calling for his release. Whoopi Goldberg, splitting legal hairs down to the micron, argues that because he pleaded to a lesser charge, Polanski is not guilty of “’rape-rape.” Producer Harvey Weinstein refers to Polanski’s “so-called crime.”

Polanski’s defenders would want you to know that he’s experienced tragedy in his life. He is a Holocaust survivor. His wife was murdered by the Manson gang. They’d want you to know he settled a civil suit brought by his victim, who has forgiven him and doesn’t wish to see him punished. They’d want you to know the original trial judge is alleged to have improperly discussed the case with a prosecutor who was not involved in it.

All of it’s true. None of it matters.

At this point, it might be valuable to try a little brain exercise. Imagine for a moment, we were not talking about Roman Polanski, the celebrated director. Imagine, instead, it was Roman Polanski the bus driver, Roman Polanski the accountant or architect who had-apologies to Whoopi Goldberg-“raped” a child and then fled the country to avoid punishment.

Would we still be having this discussion? Would he even have defenders?

Of course not.

We treat fame like a free pass from judgment or consequence, so it’s no surprise some people are signing petitions on behalf of poor Roman Polanski.

Consider this my counter petition. May he get what’s coming to him-with interest.

Leonard Pitts Jr., winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, is a columnist for the Miami Herald.

This article was published today at 4:26 a.m.
Editorial, Pages 84 on 10/11/2009

samanthajane13

10-20-2009, 11:45 AM

Swiss court orders Polanski kept in jail
By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press Writer Bradley S. Klapper, Associated Press Writer – 41 mins ago

GENEVA – Roman Polanski lost his appeal Tuesday to be released from a Swiss jail, as a Swiss court rejected multiple offers from the 76-year-old director to post bail or go under house arrest to reassure authorities that he would stay in the country.

The Federal Criminal Court said Polanski poses too "high" a flight risk to be freed and that even his Swiss chalet in the luxury resort of Gstaad was insufficient collateral to guard against his escape.

The acclaimed filmmaker is considered a convicted felon and a fugitive by authorities in Los Angeles, and the United States is seeking his extradition for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl. He was arrested by the Swiss on Sept. 26 as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award from a film festival.

"The court considered the risk that Roman Polanski might flee if released from custody as high," the federal court said. "The bail offered by the appellant does not meet in its form the requirements set out by the law."

Still, the tribunal in the southern Swiss city of Bellinzona left open several possibilities for Polanski to challenge its verdict in what is expected to be a lengthy legal battle over his extradition.

Polanski has 10 days to appeal the decision on his release to Switzerland's highest tribunal. He can also continue attempts to persuade the Swiss Justice Ministry to release him. More court proceedings are expected after Washington files its formal extradition request, which it has until Nov. 25 to submit.

The director of such film classics as "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown" was accused of plying the underage girl with champagne and a Quaalude sedative pill during a modeling shoot in 1977, and raping her. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.

He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse. In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sentence him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation.

However, he was released after 42 days by an evaluator who deemed him mentally sound and unlikely to offend again.

The judge responded by saying he was going to send Polanski back to jail for the remainder of the 90 days and afterward he would ask Polanski, a dual French-Polish citizen, to agree to a "voluntary deportation." Polanski then fled the country on Feb. 1, 1978, the day he was scheduled to be sentenced to the additional time.

Since then, Polanski has lived in France, which does not extradite its own citizens.

In its 17-page verdict, the Swiss court said Polanski offered to surrender his travel documents and submit himself to daily police checks. Those measures were seen as insufficient to prevent his flight because he could always obtain a new passport or even travel to his French home without papers.

The Swiss court was also concerned that Polanski could leave Switzerland and avoid the extradition process if he fled by helicopter or private airplane.

Lawyers for Polanski also offered up the director's Gstaad chalet as collateral, saying it represented more than half of his personal wealth and that it would definitely guarantee his remaining in the country because he has two children he must support through school.

The court, however, sided with Swiss authorities who said even the large bail offer provided insufficient security against flight, and should be made in cash.

The Swiss Justice Ministry said it would examine any new request Polanski submits and evaluate whether it represents a "concrete, realizable" offer as the court ruling suggests. But, spokesman Folco Galli reiterated that detention is only lifted in exceptional cases.

"The point of imprisonment is to ensure that Switzerland can fulfill its treaty obligations on extradition," Galli told The Associated Press. "He can always ask again to be released. But detention is the rule."

___

Associated Press writers Alexander G. Higgins and Eliane Engeler contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091020/ap_en_ot/eu_switzerland_polanski

RayStar

10-20-2009, 09:05 PM

I hope he is so depressed he looses his mind. OOPS, he did that 40 years ago when he committed this crime.

samanthajane13

10-20-2009, 09:34 PM

AP NewsBreak: Swiss tipped US to Polanski trip
By THOMAS WATKINS and BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press Writer Thomas Watkins And Bradley S. Klapper, Associated Press Writer – 27 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Swiss authorities set in motion the arrest of fugitive director Roman Polanski in his decades-old child sex case as he traveled to the country last month, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.

A series of e-mails obtained under a public records request show the Swiss Federal Office of Justice sent an urgent fax to the U.S. Office of International Affairs on Sept. 22 stating Polanski was expected in Zurich. The director was to be feted at a film festival, and Swiss officials wanted to know if the U.S. would be submitting a request for Polanski's arrest.

It took little sleuthing to figure out Polanski would be in Zurich — the film festival had a Web site promoting its upcoming tribute to the "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown" director. The new details again raise the question of why Switzerland decided to go after Polanski now, even though the 76-year-old director was a frequent visitor to that nation, where he owns an Alpine chalet.

After receiving the tip, federal officials alerted the Los Angeles district attorney's office, which immediately began drafting an arrest warrant.

Polanski was arrested Sept. 26 as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award. He has been battling extradition ever since and on Tuesday suffered a serious setback when Switzerland's top criminal court rejected his appeal to be released from prison, citing the "high" risk that the director would try to flee again.

A Sept. 25 e-mail from the Office of International Affairs to the district attorney's office shows U.S. authorities seemed confident Polanski would not be released.

"Generally, Switzerland does not release fugitives sought for extradition," the e-mail states. "The default in Switzerland is that a fugitive will be detained until s/he is either extradited or determined by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court to be non-extraditable."

Polanski's offers of bail, house arrest and electronic monitoring failed to sway the tribunal. Even his chalet in the luxury resort of Gstaad was brushed aside as insufficient collateral to guard against Polanski fleeing the country.

"The appellant has already once in 1978 eluded American criminal proceedings by traveling to Europe," the Federal Criminal Court said in its 17-page verdict, adding that Polanski's transfer to the U.S. could also cause family trauma and cost investors millions of dollars in losses.

Polanski was accused of plying a 13-year-old girl with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill during a modeling shoot in 1977 and raping her. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.

He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse and fled amid a legal dispute over his sentence.

___

Klapper contributed from Geneva. Associated Press writers Alexander G. Higgins and Eliane Engeler also contributed to this report.

[url]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091020/ap_on_en_mo/us_roman_polanski[url]

Marian Paroo

10-21-2009, 03:23 AM

I hope he is so depressed he looses his mind. OOPS, he did that 40 years ago when he committed this crime.

He did not lose his mind when he did that.

He was totally aware of what he was doing and what the morality, or should I say immorality of it was.

samanthajane13

10-21-2009, 03:20 PM

Polanski lawyers clash over his surrendering to US

GENEVA – Lawyers for Roman Polanski are clashing over his legal strategy, with one saying the director won't surrender to U.S. authorities after 31 years on the run and another suggesting that Polanski was ready to consider the move.

Attorney Herve Temime says there has been "no change in strategy," telling the AP that Polanski will "continue to fight extradition" to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

Earlier Wednesday, fellow Polanski attorney Georges Kiejman told Europe 1 radio that Polanski could voluntarily return to face justice in Los Angeles.

Polanski has been pressing for his release since being arrested last month in Zurich. He suffered a major setback Tuesday when a Swiss criminal court rejected his offer of bail, saying his flight risk was too high.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091021/ap_en_ot/eu_switzerland_polanski

samanthajane13

10-21-2009, 04:41 PM

Polanski lawyers clash over his surrendering to US

GENEVA – Lawyers for Roman Polanski clashed Wednesday over his legal strategy, with one saying the director won't surrender to U.S. authorities after 31 years on the run and another suggesting that Polanski was ready to consider the move.

Attorney Herve Temime said there has been "no change in strategy," telling the AP that Polanski will "continue to fight extradition" to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

Earlier Wednesday, fellow Polanski attorney Georges Kiejman told Europe 1 radio that Polanski could voluntarily return to face justice in Los Angeles.

Polanski has been pressing for his release since being arrested last month in Zurich. He suffered a major setback Tuesday when a Swiss criminal court rejected his offer of bail, saying his flight risk was too high.

Swiss officials tipped off the U.S. and set in motion the arrest of Polanski last month, according to documents obtained by the AP. On Wednesday, a top Swiss official defended the move.

Justice Ministry spokesman Folco Galli said the e-mails — obtained in Los Angeles by the AP under a U.S. public records request — showed that Swiss officials followed proper police procedure when a wanted individual is expected in Switzerland.

"An arrest is a big operation," Galli told the AP. "If we know a wanted individual is coming, we always ask if the arrest warrant is valid."

According to the e-mails, the Swiss ministry sent an urgent fax to the U.S. Office of International Affairs on Sept. 22 stating Polanski was traveling to Zurich. The director was to be feted at a film festival, and Swiss officials wanted to know if the U.S. would be submitting a request for his arrest as he was the subject of an international law enforcement "Red Notice."

"The Americans immediately confirmed that was the case," Galli said.

As a result, Switzerland was required by treaty to apprehend Polanski, he said.

Galli also addressed the nagging question of why authorities decided to go after Polanski now, even though the 76-year-old filmmaker has been a frequent visitor to Switzerland, where he owns an Alpine chalet. Unlike his previous visits, Polanski's appearance at this time was widely advertised, with the Zurich Film Festival promoting its upcoming tribute to the director of "Rosemary's Baby," "Chinatown" and "The Pianist" on its Web site.

Several Swiss politicians and commentators have argued that Switzerland may have cooperated too energetically, and that recent U.S.-Swiss troubles over wealthy American tax cheats and Swiss banks may have provided motivation for the arrest.

But Swiss authorities have adamantly rejected that suggestion.

"We have 20,000 warrant requests each year," Galli said, adding that this was the first time officials had precise details on the director's arrival and an official American request to arrest him.

After receiving the tip, U.S. federal officials alerted the Los Angeles district attorney's office, which immediately began drafting an arrest warrant. E-mails show U.S. authorities learned on Sept. 23 that Polanski was in Austria but officials doubted they could assemble an arrest warrant before Polanski had moved on to Switzerland.

Polanski was arrested three days later as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award. He has been battling extradition ever since.

Polanski's offers of bail, house arrest and electronic monitoring failed to sway the Swiss tribunal. Even his chalet in the luxury resort of Gstaad was brushed aside as insufficient collateral to guard against Polanski fleeing the country, as the court noted that "the appellant has already once in 1978 eluded American criminal proceedings by traveling to Europe."

Kiejman, one of Polanski's French lawyers said Wednesday his client might just decide to give up fighting extradition.

"If the proceedings drag on, it's not completely impossible that Roman Polanski might decide to go explain himself in the United States, where there are arguments in his favor," Kiejman told Europe 1 radio.

A Sept. 25 e-mail from the Office of International Affairs to the Los Angeles district attorney's office shows U.S. authorities seemed confident that Polanski would not be released.

"Generally, Switzerland does not release fugitives sought for extradition," the e-mail states. "The default in Switzerland is that a fugitive will be detained until s/he is either extradited or determined by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court to be non-extraditable."

Laura Sweeney, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Department of Justice, said she could not comment on any of the events leading up to Switzerland's fax to the United States.

U.S. district attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said it was not unusual for her office to receive information on fugitives' whereabouts, but she declined to comment further.

Temime also refused to discuss what Swiss initiation of the arrest might mean for his client's attempts to be released.

But Peter Cosandey, a former Zurich prosecutor, said the revelation doesn't aid Polanski's case.

"This is normal procedure," Cosandey told the AP. "This also happened to me as prosecutor. The guy is traveling somewhere. You're asked, 'Are you looking for him. Do you still want to arrest him?'"

Dieter Jann, another ex-district attorney, agreed.

"This changes absolutely nothing," he said. "It's absolutely normal for countries to exchange tips on wanted people and to invite each other to take action. If it wasn't Polanski, everyone would think this is right."

Polanski was accused of plying a 13-year-old girl with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill during a modeling shoot in 1977 and raping her. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.

He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse and fled amid a legal dispute over the length of his sentence.

Polanski has until Oct. 29 to appeal the decision on his release. He also can continue attempts to persuade the Swiss Justice Ministry to release him. More court proceedings are expected after Washington files its formal extradition request, which it has until Nov. 25 to submit.

Legal experts said no path offered Polanski much hope for a speedy release from jail.

It is not clear how much time in jail Polanski faces now, either in Switzerland or in the United States. With appeals, the extradition process in Switzerland could take months. In the United States, Polanski fled before sentencing was complete and is expected to face additional penalties for jumping bail.

___

Watkins contributed from Los Angeles.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091021/ap_en_ot/eu_switzerland_polanski

RayStar

10-22-2009, 08:19 AM

He did not lose his mind when he did that.

He was totally aware of what he was doing and what the morality, or should I say immorality of it was.
I stand by my post OK!

lorettalockhorn

10-22-2009, 10:00 AM

I stand by my post OK!

I'm with you Ray, I love that the wealth and wherewithall that Polanski has amassed isn't his get out of jail free card, and I'd like to see him suffer some of the same psychological ill effects that victims of crime, specifically rape experience.

samanthajane13

10-22-2009, 10:22 AM

E-mails: US discussed nabbing Polanski in Austria
By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press Writer Bradley S. Klapper, Associated Press Writer – 26 mins ago

GENEVA – American prosecutors closely monitored Roman Polanski in Austria and considered seeking his arrest there days before the director's apprehension in Switzerland, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.

Los Angeles officials decided against filing a warrant for Polanski's arrest with the Austrian government after questioning how accommodating it would be to an extradition request. They also were concerned about the limited time available before Polanski left the country, according to e-mails obtained by the AP under U.S. public records request.

The e-mail exchange Sept. 23 came three days before Polanski traveled to Switzerland and was arrested Sept. 26 at Zurich's airport. It sheds new light on how closely U.S. officials were monitoring the 76-year-old director's movements after being tipped off that he was outside France, and why they chose to go after him in Switzerland, where they are now seeking his extradition for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

"I don't have experience with any Austrian extraditions so I don't know how 'friendly' they would be to extradition on such a case," Diana Carbajal, a Los Angeles deputy district attorney, wrote in an e-mail.

She wrote that Polanski had checked out of an Austrian hotel that morning and was "on the move" ahead of his scheduled appearance at the Zurich Film Festival on Sept. 26. With the little time available and questions over extradition, she asked whether it was better to "maintain our position to extradite from Switzerland."

Lael Rubin, another deputy district attorney, answered: "Yes."

Polanski had been in Austria as early as Sept. 16, when he attended the opening night of his cult musical "Dance of the Vampires" in Vienna.

E-mails obtained by the AP show U.S. officials only learned of his upcoming trip to Zurich after the Swiss asked if Washington would be submitting a request for his arrest.

Swiss Justice Ministry spokesman Folco Galli said the Americans immediately confirmed they would seek Polanski's arrest. As a result, Switzerland was required by treaty to apprehend Polanski, the director of such film classics as "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown."

It is unclear from the e-mails why Los Angeles officials were concerned about Austrian cooperation on a Polanski extradition request. There was no reference to Polanski's history as a Jewish Holocaust survivor whose mother died in Auschwitz, or the sensitivities about having him pursued in the land of Adolf Hitler's birth.

Austria and the United States have an extradition agreement, and the Vienna prosecutor's spokesman Gerhard Jarosch said wanted individuals have been sent to the U.S.

Jarosch said the U.S. sent no arrest request, and Austrian Justice Ministry spokesman Paul Hefelle said authorities did not detain Polanski while he was in the country because he was not wanted domestically.

Still, U.S. officials expressed stronger confidence in the Swiss justice system.

"Generally, Switzerland does not release fugitives sought for extradition," a Sept. 25 e-mail states.

Later, on Oct. 5, nine days into Polanski's imprisonment, another e-mail states that the Swiss government had assured U.S. officials that Polanski would probably be sent back to Los Angeles to face justice after the U.S. submits its formal extradition request. The U.S. has until Nov. 26 to do so.

"While the Swiss officials cannot speak for the judge, the extradition will likely be ordered based upon the facts submitted in our papers," according to the e-mail, relaying a conversation between Washington and Bern.

Polanski, who won a 2003 directing Oscar in absentia for "The Pianist," was accused of raping the 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne and a Quaalude pill during a modeling shoot in 1977. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.

Polanski pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse. In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sentence him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation. Polanski was released after 42 days by an evaluator but the judge said he was going to send him back to serve the remainder of the 90 days. Polanski then fled the country on Feb. 1, 1978, the day he was to be sentenced.

A French native who moved to Poland as a child, Polanski has lived in France since fleeing the United States. France does not extradite its citizens.

On Wednesday, Polanski's lawyers split on strategies, with one suggesting for the first time that Polanski might voluntarily return to the U.S. to face justice in California after 31 years as a fugitive.

The new approach emerged after a Swiss court dealt the 76-year-old filmmaker a major setback on Tuesday by rejecting his appeal to be freed from jail because of the high risk he would flee again. Polanski, who has until Oct. 29 to appeal that decision, faces lengthy detention if he is unsuccessful and continues to fight extradition.

"If the proceedings drag on, it's not completely impossible that Roman Polanski might decide to go explain himself in the United States, where there are arguments in his favor," one of his lawyers, Georges Kiejman, told Europe 1 radio.

But another Paris-based lawyer for Polanski said there had been no change in strategy.

"We continue to fight extradition, and for him to be free," Herve Temime told the AP.

___

Associated Press writers Thomas Watkins in Los Angeles and Veronika Oleksyn in Vienna contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091022/ap_en_ot/eu_switzerland_polanski

RayStar

10-23-2009, 06:28 AM

I'm with you Ray, I love that the wealth and wherewithall that Polanski has amassed isn't his get out of jail free card, and I'd like to see him suffer some of the same psychological ill effects that victims of crime, specifically rape experience.
Thanks. I hope he screams in his sleep every night. He should have stayed in the USA and paid his penalty for the horrible crimes he committed.

samanthajane13

10-23-2009, 07:21 PM

US files Polanski extradition request in sex case
By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press Writer Bradley S. Klapper, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 52 mins ago

GENEVA – The United States has asked Switzerland to hand over Roman Polanski to authorities in California, where he could serve up to two years in prison for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl, Swiss authorities said Friday.

The Justice Ministry said in a statement that Washington filed its formal extradition request late Thursday. The 76-year-old filmmaker has been in Swiss custody since his arrest Sept. 26 as he arrived in Zurich to attend a film festival.

The request has been forwarded to Zurich authorities, who will hold a hearing on an unspecified date to decide whether Polanski should be sent back to Los Angeles. If extradition is approved, Polanski may appeal the decision to Switzerland's top criminal court and, theoretically, to the Federal Supreme Court.

That means the director of such film classics as "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown" could remain in a Swiss jail for months more of legal wrangling, even though legal experts say he has little chance of avoiding a return to the United States after 31 years as a fugitive.

The maximum sentence Polanski can receive in California is two years, the Justice Ministry said.

"In the American case, he declared himself guilty of having sexual relations with a minor," spokesman Folco Galli told Europe-1 radio. "According to American law currently in force, the maximum penalty for the crime in question is two years in prison."

Galli later told The Associated Press that the sentence couldn't be longer because Polanski could only be punished for the crime that is the basis of his extradition. He said the U.S. informed the Swiss of the maximum sentence in its filing.

In Paris, Polanski's lawyer said the director would fight extradition.

"He will oppose this request and continue to ask to be released until the request is examined," Herve Temime said.

The U.S. had until late November to file for extradition, but the Swiss were already asking on Oct. 5 that the Americans expedite the process, according to documents obtained by the AP.

In an e-mail exchange obtained by the AP under U.S. public records request, Los Angeles prosecutors noted that the "Swiss were very eager to receive an advance English copy of our papers" and "the sooner that the Swiss knew we had filed formal papers the better."

There was no mention in correspondence of the intense public scrutiny over Polanski's arrest in the Alpine country, which tipped off U.S. authorities that he was expected five days before his apprehension at Zurich's airport.

Swiss officials have defended the move as routine procedure. But several politicians and commentators have argued that Switzerland may have cooperated too energetically, and that recent U.S.-Swiss troubles over wealthy American tax cheats and Swiss banks may have provided motivation for the arrest.

Polanski, who won a 2003 directing Oscar in absentia for "The Pianist," was accused of raping the 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne and a Quaalude pill during a modeling shoot in 1977. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.

Polanski pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse. In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sentence him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation. Polanski was released after 42 days by an evaluator but the judge said he was going to send him back to serve the remainder of the 90 days. Polanski then fled the country on Feb. 1, 1978, the day he was to be sentenced.

A French native who moved to Poland as a child, Polanski has lived in France since fleeing the United States. France does not extradite its citizens.

Polanski has been fighting since his arrest to be released from jail. He suffered a serious setback earlier this week when the Swiss Criminal Court rejected his appeal because of the high risk he would flee justice again. It turned down a bail payment of his Alpine chalet in Gstaad, house arrest and electronic monitoring as conditions for his release.

The loss appeared to prompt some rethinking of his defense, when one of Polanski's lawyers said Wednesday that it was possible that the director might voluntarily return to face justice in the United States.

But that suggestion was quickly rejected by another attorney representing Polanski.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091023/ap_en_ot/eu_switzerland_polanski

RayStar

10-25-2009, 08:00 AM

Well I think two years behind bars for the elderly Polanski will seem like a lifetime.

lorettalockhorn

10-25-2009, 08:34 AM

Polanski hospitalized in Zurich

Zurich, Oct. 19 -- French-born film director Roman Polanski, who was jailed last month on an outstanding U.S. arrest warrant, is undergoing medical tests in a Swiss hospital.

Polanski, 76, was arrested Sept. 26 in Zurich in connection with a 1977 child-sex case in Los Angeles.
The famous filmmaker, who lives in France, has not traveled to the United States since he pleaded guilty in a Los Angeles court to having unlawful sex with a minor and then fled the country before he could be sentenced. He was accused of drugging and raping Samantha Geimer when she was 13.

Polanski's lawyers have alleged misconduct on the part of the Los Angeles criminal justice system at the time of the plea deal. They are fighting extradition from Switzerland to the United States.

People.com said Monday Polanski had been transferred from prison to a hospital in Zurich Friday to undergo tests for an undisclosed medical condition. He reportedly was expected to stay at the facility for several days.

The magazine's Web site said the ailment is a pre-existing condition that cannot be treated while Polanski is behind bars.

The Swiss newspaper Blick said Polanski was also admitted to the hospital for X-rays on a previous occasion since his arrest.

"His general condition is no longer satisfactory," People.com quoted Polanski's lawyer, Herve Temime, as saying in a radio interview. "But the situation isn't easy for any prisoners, even less so for a man the age of Polanski. One has to be attentive."

http://www.themoneytimes.com/20091023/polanski-hospitalized-zurich-id-1088405.html

Marian Paroo

10-25-2009, 02:25 PM

How convenient.

BeastofBears

10-25-2009, 08:57 PM

How convenient.

Guess it would have been better to do the time for the crime when he was a little more spry, huh? Now he may well get to finish off his days in a prison hospital instead of some fancy hospital with a view on the Cote D'Azur ....couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

samanthajane13

10-25-2009, 11:26 PM

"the ailment is a pre-existing condition that cannot be treated while Polanski is behind bars."

Yeah-right...

The pre-existing condition is called Pedophilia...and head-up-ass disease.

And no-there are no cures for either...other than DEATH.

samanthajane13

11-02-2009, 05:13 AM

Cash bail offer to be filed for Polanski on Monday

PARIS – A French lawyer for director Roman Polanski, imprisoned in Switzerland, says a new bail offer will be filed Monday and it will be a "very, very significant" cash amount.

Swiss authorities rejected an offer Friday, considering the 76-year-old filmmaker awaiting a decision on extradition to the United States a high flight risk. They noted it was not a cash offer.

Herve Temime told France-Info radio Sunday the latest offer is in cash. He wouldn't say how much. He said Polanski would accept the extradition decision "whatever it is" and assured his client would never behave "like a fugitive."

Polanski, arrested Sept. 26, is wanted in the U.S. for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles in 1977. Polanski fled the U.S. before sentencing.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091101/ap_en_mo/eu_france_polanski

lorettalockhorn

11-02-2009, 09:37 AM

>>and assured his client would never behave "like a fugitive.

Oh. And here we thought past behavior is the best predictor or future behavior.

BeastofBears

11-02-2009, 01:30 PM

>>and assured his client would never behave "like a fugitive.

Oh. And here we thought past behavior is the best predictor or future behavior.

http://i38.tinypic.com/2iabuqw.jpg

What? Me run? lol

Marian Paroo

11-02-2009, 04:31 PM

Please don't let him show up here...!

samanthajane13

11-03-2009, 02:33 AM

Oral arguments scheduled in Polanski's CA appeal
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney, Ap Entertainment Writer – Mon Nov 2, 8:09 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – A California appeals court will listen to oral arguments from Roman Polanski's attorneys about why it should require a lower court to decide whether to dismiss charges against the fugitive director, whether he is present or not.

Polanski in July appealed a Los Angeles Superior Court judge's decision not to dismiss the criminal case because the director didn't appear for a hearing. The California Second District Court of Appeal on Monday set oral arguments for Dec. 10.

Los Angeles authorities have considered the Oscar-winning director a fugitive since he fled the United States in February 1978 just before he was to be sentenced for unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.

The appeal was filed before Polanski's arrest in Switzerland on Sept. 25. He has resisted efforts to return him to Los Angeles. Extradition paperwork filed by U.S. authorities states the maximum sentence that Polanski, 76, faces is two years in prison.

Polanski's French attorney has filed a new bail offer with Swiss authorities in an attempt to free the Oscar-winning filmmaker.

Lawyer Herve Temime said the offer Monday includes "adequate guarantees" that Polanski will not flee justice if released. Polanski is awaiting a decision on extradition to the United States.

Switzerland's Justice Ministry rejected a bail offer Friday, considering Polanski a high flight risk. They noted it was not a cash offer.

Temime said Sunday the new offer would include a "very, very significant" cash amount, but he gave no further details Monday.

The California appellate court's decision to schedule oral arguments came 10 days after prosecutors and Polanski's attorneys filed supplemental briefs on why the appeal should either be heard or dismissed.

Prosecutors have consistently argued that Polanski needs to be present for the judge to consider whether to dismiss the case against him. They argued the appeal should be barred by Polanski's status as a fugitive, and that his arrest has rendered the case moot since there is now a chance that he will be returned to the United States.

Polanski's attorneys, however, argued his status as a fugitive shouldn't disqualify his appeal. The Superior Court judge should be required to decide whether to dismiss the case because of a judge's misconduct in handling Polanski's original criminal case, they stated in court filings.

They also contend that because of the previous misconduct, Polanski should not have to attend the hearing.

Polanski's victim, Samantha Geimer, has repeatedly asked for dismissal of the charges against Polanski. Her attorney filed a declaration in the appeals case last month, stating that the case's re-emergence has caused her undisclosed health issues and problems at her workplace.

She sued Polanski years after he fled, and the director agreed to pay a $500,000 settlement to her. It is unclear how much of the money she received.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091103/ap_en_ot/us_roman_polanski