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Polanski freed as Swiss deny extradition
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Polanski freed as Swiss deny extradition
Reuters - 27 minutes ago
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German actress Anke Engelke looks at the screen as it is announced that Roman Polanski wins the Silver Bear for Best Director for his film "The Ghost Writer" during the awards ceremony at the 60th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin February 20, 2010. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz
By Jill Serjeant and Jason Rhodes
LOS ANGELES/GSTAAD, Switzerland - Switzerland on Monday refused to send film director Roman Polanski to the United States to be sentenced for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl three decades ago, and freed him from house arrest.
The Swiss Justice Ministry said it had decided against extradition because of potential technical faults in the U.S. request regarding legal arguments that Polanski had already served his sentence before fleeing Los Angeles in 1978.
But the U.S. State Department dismissed Switzerland's argument and said it would continue to pursue justice.
"A 13-year-old girl was drugged and raped by an adult. This is not a matter of technicality," State Department spokeswoman P.J Crowley said.
"The United States believes that the rape of a 13-year-old child by an adult is a crime and we continue to pursue justice in this case," Crowley told a Washington news briefing.
He said the decision to free Polanski "sends a very important message regarding how women and girls are treated around the world. To push this case aside based on technicalities we think is regrettable."
Switzerland's decision was warmly welcomed in Europe but reaction in Hollywood was much more muted.
Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said Washington could appeal the decision internationally but she did not expect that to happen.
U.S. Justice Department officials said they were reviewing possible options. "There is no masking the fact that we are deeply disappointed by what occurred," Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer told reporters.
A FREE MAN
Swiss authorities said the electronic monitoring bracelet, worn by Polanski, 76, during his 10 months' house arrest in his chalet in the ski resort of Gstaad, had been turned off.
"He is a free man since 11:30 today," Widmer-Schlumpf told a news conference in Berne. "He can go to France or to Poland, anywhere where he will not be arrested."
A person who identified herself as Polanski's assistant told Reuters that Polanski had left Gstaad where he had been under house arrest since December. She declined to give details.
In Los Angeles, District Attorney Steve Cooley told the Los Angeles Times he was "genuinely surprised and disappointed" at the Swiss ruling.
Cooley's office, which has fought for years to have Polanski returned to Los Angeles, was expected to issue a formal statement later on Monday.
Polanski, who won a best director Oscar for his 2002 World War Two movie "The Pianist", was arrested in September 2009 upon arrival in Zurich to receive an award. He was released to house arrest in December.
The director's Los Angeles legal team had no immediate comment on the ruling. But his European lawyer, Herve Temime, said; "It's an enormous satisfaction and a great relief after the pain suffered by Roman Polanski and his family."
Polanski pleaded guilty to having sex with the girl in 1977 after giving her champagne and drugs. But he fled on the eve of his sentencing in 1978 because he believed the judge would renege on a plea agreement under which his 42 days spent in detention for psychiatric assessment would constitute his full sentence.
"If this were the case, Roman Polanski would actually already have served his sentence and therefore the proceedings on which the U.S. extradition request is founded and the request itself would have no foundation," the Swiss Justice Ministry statement said in a statement on Monday.
Polanski's victim, Samantha Geimer, now a mother of three in her 40s, has repeatedly asked for the case in California to be dropped.
Polanski's release was welcomed in France, where Polanski has been a long-time resident and which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States covering the offense.
The Polish Foreign Ministry also welcomed the Swiss decision.
"The great Franco-Polish director will from now on be able to rejoin his friends and family and work fully on his artistic projects," said French Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner.
In Hollywood, there was no comment on Monday from either the Directors Guild of America, or the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awarded the fugitive director an Oscar for his 2002 movie "The Pianist".
Born to Polish-Jewish parents in 1933, Polanski escaped from the Krakow ghetto. His pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, was murdered in 1969 in Hollywood by followers of cult leader Charles Manson.
Polanski is also known for classics such as "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby." He completed his 2010 film "The Ghost Writer," while under arrest in Switzerland.
"The difficult past, the rich personality, the universally-admired works of Roman Polanski should all regain their standing," said French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand.
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