Translated material
Thirty years later
Director Roman Polanski arrested at film festival in Switzerland
A trip to the Zurich Film Festival to receive an award for “contribution to art” last Saturday resulted in arrest for the famous 76-year-old director Roman Polanski, who lives in France, on the basis of a warrant issued by the United States more than 30 years ago. The case was opened in 1978; the director is accused of raping 13-year-old fashion model Samantha Geimer while under the influence of alcohol and drugs at a party with his friend Jack Nicholson.The director then made a deal with American justice and pleaded guilty to having sex with a minor, after which five other prosecutors’ charges against him, including rape, were dropped. But suddenly Polanski left the United States, and the judge issued a warrant for his arrest, which is still in effect. Because of this high-profile case, Polanski could not travel to America for many years - even the Oscar, which American film academics awarded to the director for the film “The Pianist” in 2002, he received only six months later and not in the USA.
In 1997, Polanski reached an agreement with the family of the injured girl and paid compensation. The judge then offered Polanski to drop all charges against him in exchange for agreeing to broadcast the court hearing live on television, but the director refused another deal with the American court. The case was never closed.
In December 2008, Polanski filed a formal request in a Los Angeles court asking that charges against him for having an intimate relationship with Geimer be dropped. Almost simultaneously, 45-year-old Samantha Geimer herself appealed to the Los Angeles court with an official request to drop the charges against the filmmaker. She explained her request by saying that by making the details of the case public, the investigative authorities “caused damage to her, her three children, her husband and mother.”
In addition, Polanski's lawyers insist on dropping the charges due to new circumstances, which became known from the documentary film "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired", presented at this year's Cannes Film Festival. They believe the tape contains evidence of "systematic misconduct and inappropriate communication" between prosecutors and the judge who tried Polanski's case.
In February 2009, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza said he would consider violations if Polanski appeared in person before May 7, 2009, and promised to "take measures to ensure his safety," but Polanski is in the United States never showed up.
The Swiss Ministry of Justice yesterday confirmed the arrest of Roman Polanski. The Minister of Justice announced the police's intention to keep the famous director in custody until possible extradition to the American authorities. However, the planned date of extradition has not been announced. It is expected that the American side will be given time to send an extradition request. At the same time, according to the Swiss minister, Polanski has the right to appeal and thus avoid a meeting with the American Themis.
French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand was yesterday, as he said, amazed by the arrest of a famous director in Switzerland. Mitterrand claims that he discussed this issue with the country's President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is following developments "with great attention" and wants "a speedy resolution of the situation." The minister does not want to "interfere with a very old trial that has given rise to exaggerated judgments" and "is very sorry that a man who has survived many trials is forced to endure another one."
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who is on a visit to Cairo, said yesterday that he intends to appeal to the US President with a request to use the right of pardon against the famous film director.
The Swiss Writers' and Directors' Union protested against Polanski's arrest. "This is a legal scandal that will damage Switzerland's reputation around the world," the union said in a statement.