Polanski lawyers clash over surrender to US
Lawyers for Roman Polanski clashed today over his legal strategy, with one saying the director will not surrender to US authorities after 31 years on the run and another suggesting that Polanski was ready to consider the move.
Attorney Herve Temime said there has been “no change in strategy”, telling reporters that Polanski will “continue to fight extradition” to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.
Earlier, fellow Polanski attorney Georges Kiejman told Europe 1 radio that Polanski could voluntarily return to face justice in Los Angeles.
Polanski has been pressing for his release since being arrested last month in Zurich. He suffered a major setback yesterday when a Swiss criminal court rejected his offer of bail, saying his flight risk was too high.
Swiss officials tipped off the US and set in motion the arrest of Polanski last month, according to documents obtained by reporters. Today, a top Swiss official defended the move.
Justice Ministry spokesman Folco Galli said the emails – obtained in Los Angeles by the Associated Press news agency under a US public records request - showed that Swiss officials followed proper police procedure when a wanted individual is expected in Switzerland.
“An arrest is a big operation,” Mr Galli told the AP. “If we know a wanted individual is coming, we always ask if the arrest warrant is valid.”
According to the emails, the Swiss ministry sent an urgent fax to the US Office of International Affairs on September 22 stating Polanski was travelling to Zurich. The director was to be feted at a film festival, and Swiss officials wanted to know if the US would be submitting a request for his arrest as he was the subject of an international law enforcement “Red Notice”.
“The Americans immediately confirmed that was the case,” Mr Galli said.
As a result, Switzerland was required by treaty to apprehend Polanski, he said.
Mr Galli also addressed the nagging question of why authorities decided to go after Polanski now, even though the 76-year-old filmmaker has been a frequent visitor to Switzerland, where he owns an Alpine chalet.
Unlike his previous visits, Polanski’s appearance at this time was widely advertised, with the Zurich Film Festival promoting its upcoming tribute to the director of “Rosemary’s Baby”, “Chinatown” and “The Pianist” on its website.
Several Swiss politicians and commentators have argued that Switzerland may have co-operated too energetically, and that recent US-Swiss troubles over wealthy American tax cheats and Swiss banks may have provided motivation for the arrest.
However, Swiss authorities have adamantly rejected that suggestion.
“We have 20,000 warrant requests each year,” Mr Galli said, adding that this was the first time officials had precise details on the director’s arrival and an official American request to arrest him.
After receiving the tip, US federal officials alerted the Los Angeles district attorney’s office, which immediately began drafting an arrest warrant. E-mails show US authorities learned on September 23 that Polanski was in Austria but officials doubted they could assemble an arrest warrant before Polanski had moved on to Switzerland.
Polanski was arrested three days later as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award. He has been battling extradition ever since.
Polanski’s offers of bail, house arrest and electronic monitoring failed to sway the Swiss tribunal.
Even his chalet in the luxury resort of Gstaad was brushed aside as insufficient collateral to guard against Polanski fleeing the country, as the court noted that “the appellant has already once in 1978 eluded American criminal proceedings by travelling to Europe”.
Mr Kiejman, one of Polanski’s French lawyers said his client might just decide to give up fighting extradition.
“If the proceedings drag on, it’s not completely impossible that Roman Polanski might decide to go explain himself in the United States, where there are arguments in his favour,” Mr Kiejman told Europe 1 radio.
