what is the latest on the roman polanski arrest scandal?
Roman Polanski, the film director, has been arrested in Switzerland in connection with a charge of having sexual relations with an underage girl. The 76 year-old director is being questioned by police in Zurich over a 1978 arrest warrant issued in America. He was in the Swiss City for the Zurich Film Festival and due to receive an award on Sunday. But detectives took him into custody after raiding his hotel. Two months ago Polanski asked a California appeals court to overturn a judge’s refusal to consider his request to throw out a 1977 case in which he pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Polanski, who now lives permanently in Paris, fled America in 1978 before he was sentenced and is considered an international fugitive. He has not re-entered the country since then, but appealed to have the guilty verdict overturned on the basis of alleged misconduct. Polanski’s lawyers alleged that the original trial judge, who is now deceased, improperly colluded with prosecutors.
Director Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss police as he flew in for the Zurich Film Festival and faces possible extradition to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl, authorities said Sunday. Polanski was scheduled to receive an honorary award at the festival when he was apprehended Saturday at the airport, the Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement. It said U.S. authorities have sought the arrest of the 76-year-old director around the world since 2005. “There was a valid arrest request and we knew when he was coming,” ministry spokesman Guido Balmer told The Associated Press. “That’s why he was taken into custody.” Balmer said the U.S. would now have to make a formal extradition request. Polanski fled the U.S. in 1978, a year after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with the underage girl. The director of such classic films as “Chinatown” and “Rosemary’s Baby” has asked a U.S. appeals court in California to overturn a judges’ refusal to thr
