Swiss Reject US Request to Extradite Polanski

Roman Polanski’s repeated claims that there was misconduct at his trial for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 ran into a brick wall in U.S. courts. But they were enough apparently to convince Swiss authorities that he should walk free. Switzerland announced Monday that it would not extradite Polanski, a famous film director, to the United States in part because of fresh doubts over the conduct of the judge in his original trial. The ruling means that, after nearly a year of courtroom wrangling in the United States and Switzerland, the case is roughly where it has been for decades: Polanski is free to return to his home in France but remains wanted in the United States.

“He is a free man.” -Justice minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf

In 1977, Polanski was arrested for sexual assault of a 13 year old, although he pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse with a minor, Polanski soon fled to London but continued onto France which didn’t have an extradition treaty.

The acclaimed director continued to produce outstanding and critically acclaimed films such as the Oscar winning The Pianist (2002) starring Adrien Brody, a World War II-set adaptation of Jewish-Polish musician W�?adys�?aw Szpilman’s autobiography of the same name, which echoed some of Polanski’s earlier life experiences.

Trailer for The Pianist

Even with an international arrest warrant active since 2005, the director still managed to garner 3 Academy Awards including Best Director, the Cannes Palme d’Or and 7 French Cesar Awards. Under house arrest, he still managed to complete successful films like Oliver Twist (2005), To Each His Own Cinema (2007), and The Ghost Writer (2010).