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Polanski vows to fight US extradition
2009-09-28
ZURICH (AFP) - Roman Polanski's lawyers on Monday vowed to fight his extradition to the United States over a three-decade-old child sex case and called his surprise detention in Switzerland "illegal". Support from the movie industry and some governments for the 76-year-old Polish-French film director also grew. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the case was a "bit sinister" and that he had asked the United States to drop the charges. A Swiss newspaper said the country should be "ashamed" of the "trap" it laid for the Oscar-winning director. Polanski, who achieved international acclaim for movies such as "Rosemary's Baby", "Chinatown" and "The Pianist", was detained as he arrived on Saturday to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich film festival. Swiss authorities said they were awaiting an extradition request from the United States over the 1977 case in which he admitted having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Polanski case: key dates. But Polanski's French lawyer, Herve Temime, said the director rejected any prospect of extradition. "He has refused the request from the United States for his extradition," said a statement issued by Temime. "Given the extravagant circumstances of his arrest, his Swiss lawyer will ask without delay for him to be released, possibly under certain conditions," the statement added. "After that his defence team will demonstrate the illegal nature of the extradition request he is facing." France and Poland have expressed indignation over the arrest. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he was working with Polish counterpart Radek Sikorski to help Polanski and that they had jointly written to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to ask for the charges to be dropped. "This affair is frankly a bit sinister. Here is a man of such talent, recognized worldwide, recognised especially in the country where he was arrested. This is not nice at all," Kouchner told France-Inter radio. French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand has called the arrest of the film-maker, who lives in Paris, "absolutely horrifying" and said it shows "a side of America which scares". A petition signed by film-makers and actors including Costa Gavras, Wong Kar Wai, Monica Bellucci and Fanny Ardant voiced dismay at Polanski's detention. Polish film directors have also called for action. Polanski fled the United States in 1978 before sentencing on a charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. He has never returned, even missing the Oscar award for "The Pianist" in 2003. Temine said Polanski visits Switzerland often and owns a chalet in Gstaad where he spent three months this year. "He was very shocked and his family even more so, his wife and children" by the arrest, Temime said. "We told him about all the support he was receiving, extraordinary support from all sides, and it comforted him greatly." Switzerland says Polanski is being held under an international alert issued by the United States in 2005. As Polanski can launch several appeals, a final extradition decision could take weeks or months, legal experts said. Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, said moves to detain the director were set in motion last week. "It wasn't a big secret that he was going to be in Zurich," Gibbons said. "They had announced he was going on the Internet." Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Wildmer-Schlumpf said her country had a duty to act on the US request and there was no political "pressure" involved. But Swiss newspapers have speculated that the government ordered the arrest in a bid to redeem itself with the US government after a row over banking secrecy. "Switzerland let a guest walk into a nasty trap. We should be ashamed," commented the Blick tabloid. In May, a Los Angeles judge refused Polanski's bid to dismiss the underage sex case after he failed to appear in court. Polanski's legal team argued that the conviction should be annulled because the judge who heard the 1970s case had improperly colluded with prosecutors. The judge has since died. The victim in the 1977 case has joined defence lawyers in urging its dismissal.
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