Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Entertainment
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Film
Music
People
Television
Arts
Industry
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Polanski fights extradition as Hollywood watches
Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:09pm EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Emma Thomasson and Estelle Shirbon
ZURICH/PARIS (Reuters) - Roman Polanski's extradition to the United States on a decades-old sex charge could take years to accomplish after the Oscar-winning film director decided on Monday to fight his removal from Europe.
Polanski, 76, who has dual French and Polish citizenship, was arrested on Saturday on a U.S. warrant by authorities in Switzerland, where the "Chinatown" director was set to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival.
"He is in fighting mood and determined to defend himself," Herve Temime, Polanski's lawyer, told France Info radio, adding that the movie director was stunned by the arrest because he was a regular visitor to Switzerland.
Temime said he had requested Polanski's release from a Swiss prison but a Justice Ministry spokesman said it was very unlikely the director could be released on bail.
U.S. judicial sources, who requested anonymity because they were not directly involved in the case, said the complex extradition process could take years if Polanski challenges it. U.S. authorities have up to 60 days to make a firm extradition request, but Polanski can appeal to the Swiss courts.
The filmmaker, who won the best director Oscar for 2002 Holocaust film "The Pianist," is wanted for fleeing the United States on the eve of his formal sentencing over a 1977 criminal charge of having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl, to whom he also was accused of giving drugs and alcohol.
At the time, Polanski had reached a deal with Los Angeles prosecutors to plead guilty to the sex charge and receive 42 days in prison for psychiatric tests -- time that he had already served. But Polanski believed the judge might overrule the plea and sentence him to as much as 50 years in jail.
The Los Angeles District Attorney's office released a chronology on Monday of seven previous attempts to arrest Polanski since 1978 during the director's expected or actual visits to England, Israel, Canada and Thailand.
EUROPE ANGRY, HOLLYWOOD RESTRAINED
In the past three decades, questions have arisen about judicial misconduct and the victim, Samantha Geimer, has said Polanski should not face more jail time.
Polanski's arrest has infuriated authorities in France and brought protests from European filmmakers. But in Hollywood, reaction was more restrained.
Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, whose company helped distribute the 2008 documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" that highlighted the supposed judicial irregularities, said in a statement: "We are calling every filmmaker we can to help fix this terrible situation."
But there was silence on Monday from the Directors Guild of America and from many big-name U.S. actors who had worked closely with Polanski in the past.
Jeff Berg, Polanski's Los Angeles-based film agent and chief executive of International Creative Management, one of Hollywood's biggest talent agencies, told Reuters that the first priority was to contest the extradition process.
But he said there was "global support from the film community" for Polanski. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Jackson reigns at box office, in advance of film
Also On Reuters
U.S. dollar seen caught in G20 meeting's crosshairs
Banged up, Allen Stanford back in jail after brawl
Video
Video: Next up, mind-controlled gadgets?
More Entertainment News
Jackson reigns at box office, in advance of film
Guitar maker draws buyers, cult-like following
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" inspiration dies
Philip Seymour Hoffman disappoints in "Othello"
Wright, Burnett join forces for CBS drama
More Entertainment News...
Video
Polanski to fight extradition
Play Video
Movie maker Polanski arrested
More Video...
Related News
Filmmaker Roman Polanski's arrest to spark extradition fight
27 Sep 2009
Anger in France and Poland after Polanski arrest
27 Sep 2009
FACTBOX: Key facts on director Roman Polanski
27 Sep 2009
FACTBOX: Roman Polanski to fight extradition
28 Sep 2009
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Phone off? Hugh Jackman stops Broadway show for ringing
Philippines braces for new storm as toll hits 240 | Video
UPDATE 1-Venture-owned e-commerce co Newegg files for IPO
For China, Iran uranium plant no game changer
Guitar maker draws buyers, cult-like following
Banged up, Allen Stanford back in jail after brawl
Poland okays forcible castration for pedophiles
Man sues BofA for "1,784 billion, trillion dollars" | Video
Anger in France and Poland after Polanski arrest
EXCLUSIVE: Ex-AIG unit head Cassano back in U.S.
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Standoff in Honduras
Next up, mind-controlled gadgets?
US calls Iran tests "provocative"
Illegal migrants in poverty trap
Cyborg beetle flies by wireless
Taliban commander captured
Philippines typhoon kills 86
UK navy's record cocaine seizure
Movie maker Polanski arrested
Philippines typhoon aftermath
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.