Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski can breathe a sigh of relief – and start making a planned film in Poland. Prosecutors say they won’t appeal
ADVERTISEMENTOscar-winning director Roman Polanski can breathe a sigh of relief – and start making a planned film in Poland.
Prosecutors say they won’t appeal after a Polish court earlier rejected US moves to have the 82-year-old extradited to the United States on a decades-old child sex conviction.
The United States had requested Polanski’s extradition from Poland after he made a high-profile appearance in Warsaw in 2014. The filmmaker lives in Paris but he also has an apartment in Krakow, southern Poland.
Poland won't extradite Roman Polanski to the U.S. https://t.co/MfwsbDIYHUpic.twitter.com/LsxqH0DOae
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) 27 Novembre 2015
Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to having sex with a 13-year-old girl during a photo shoot in Los Angeles.
The film director served 42 days in jail after a plea bargain. He fled the United States the following year to Britain and then to France, believing the judge hearing his case could overrule the deal and put him in jail for years.
Samantha Geimer, the victim in the case, has made clear she believes Polanski’s long exile has been punishment enough.
“Speaking for Polanski, I can say that we feel a great relief that this case has ended,” Jan Olszewski, one of Polanski’s lawyers said.
“And this means that it will be possible for Polanski to start making a planned film in Poland.”