The Swiss government's decision Monday, July 12, to decline a U.S. request to extradite Roman Polanski has ended a 10-month legal battle between the fugitive Franco-Polish filmmaker and American justice officials. But it's unlikely to end the war being waged by the U.S. justice system to force Polanski to honor the Los Angeles court date he skipped out on 32 years ago after pleading guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl.
The Swiss government's announcement Monday that it will not extradite Polanski to the U.S. took many observers by surprise. Swiss courts had earlier rejected Polanski's attempts to block Switzerland's compliance with the U.S. arrest warrants that had prompted the director's arrest last September upon his arrival in Zurich to attend a film festival. But the government's decision essentially gives the benefit of the doubt to Polanski's claims that California had reneged on a 1977 plea-bargain agreement with him, which the filmmaker alleges was his reason for going on the lam in the first place. In explaining the decision, the Swiss cited the refusal by U.S. justice authorities last month to deliver confidential testimony given by the prosecutor in the case that might have upheld those claims by Polanski. More...
Don't miss:
No comments:
Post a Comment