Back in September of 2009, Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland stemming from a US 1978 conviction for statutory rape which he plead guilty to but never served the sentence for. After his conviction but before he turned himself over to the authorities to begin serving his sentence, Polanski fled the country and never once [...]
Back in September of 2009, Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland stemming from a US 1978 conviction for statutory rape which he plead guilty to but never served the sentence for. After his conviction but before he turned himself over to the authorities to begin serving his sentence, Polanski fled the country and never once returned to the US for fear he would be held accountable for his crimes. After his arrest last year, a Swiss court has been overseeing the extradition request from the US to determine if they were going to comply with the order and hand Polanski over to the US for punishment. Today, the Swiss court made a decision … they decided not to comply with the extradition order and let Roman Polanski, convicted statutory rapist, remain free:
Switzerland will not extradite the film director Roman Polanski to the United States to face charges of unlawful sex with a minor because of a possible fault in the American application for his extradition, Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told a news conference on Monday. “He’s a free man,” she said. Mr. Polanski was arrested on an international warrant issued by the United States on charges dating from 1977. The director fled on the eve of sentencing in California because of fear that the presiding intended to renege what his defense lawyers said was a deal to avoid a prison sentence. Ms. Widmer-Schlumpf said the American authorities had rejected a request by her ministry for records of a hearing by the prosecutor in the case, Roger Gunson, in January 2010, which should have established whether the judge who tried the case in 1977 had assured Mr. Polanski that time he spent in a psychiatric unit would constitute the whole of the period of imprisonment he would serve. “If this were the case, Roman Polanski would actually have already served his sentence and therefore both the proceedings on which the U.S. extradition request is founded and the request itself would have no foundation,” the Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement. Swiss authorities jailed Mr. Polanski, the Polish-born filmmaker, in Zurich in September 2009 in response to the American warrant but in December allowed him to move to his chalet in the ski resort of Gstaad under house arrest on bail of $4.5 million pending a decision on his extradition. Mr. Polanski’s French lawyer, Georges Kiejman, hailed the Swiss government’s decision for concluding Mr. Polanski’s “long ordeal,” and said he would be able return to his home and family in France. “I pay tribute to Swiss justice, its judicial analysis is very correct,” Mr. Kiejman told Agence France-Presse.
It is my personal belief that the Swiss court never really intended to hand over Polanski to the US and did a pretty good job of delaying the matter long enough so that they could make this ruling, brace for little impact and let the whole matter go. The case seemed so cut and dry to me … Roman Polanski was convicted of a crime and then he fled the country before he could be punished. I realize that there are all these explanations as to why he fled and how innocent he is but don’t all convicted felons bound for jail say the same thing? If he truly were innocent then he should’ve submitted to the laws and practices of the country he committed his crimes in. But, it turns out he had an even better idea … he fled the country he committed his crimes in and then lived a life of wealth and luxury abroad. The scariest thing to me is the fact that this ruling by the Swiss court makes the statement that if you are convicted of a crime and you are wealthy enough, you can avoid punishment and enjoy a life of leisure and FREEDOM in Switzerland. Blah. I find this whole matter upsetting and very troubling. I’m also not very surprised at today’s ruling … are you?
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Charlize Theron
Anna Faris
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