Thursday November 26, 2009
Swiss court grants Roman Polanski bail
By Jason Rhodes
ZURICH (Reuters) - A Swiss court approved on Wednesday the release of Roman Polanski on bail of 4.5 million Swiss francs ($4.49 million) while the film director fights extradition to the United States over a 1970s child sex case.
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Herve Temime, lawyer of Polish-born film director Roman Polanski arrives at the courthouse in Paris on October 23, 2009. (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/Files) |
"The court considered bail in the amount of 4.5 million Swiss francs offered by Polanski, together with supporting measures, as being sufficient to avert the risk of flight," the Swiss Federal Criminal Court said in a statement.
It noted that the sum was a "substantial portion" of Polanski's fortune.
The court ordered Polanski to surrender his identity papers and said he would be under house arrest under electronic monitoring pending the outcome of his extradition case.
Polanski would not be released immediately because the government had yet to analyse the ruling and decide whether to appeal, Justice Ministry spokesman Folco Galli told Reuters.
Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said an appeal was unlikely. "I think Swiss Federal Criminal Court had its good reasons. I see no reason to appeal this decision to the Federal Court," she told the Swiss national broadcaster.
Galli said that, if the Justice Ministry decided to release Polanski from prison and into house arrest at his holiday home in the Swiss resort of Gstaad, it would still take a few days.
Polanski's lawyers were not immediately available for comment on the ruling.
MONTHS OR YEARS
The 76-year-old Oscar-winning director, who holds dual French and Polish citizenship, was arrested at the request of the United States when he arrived in Switzerland on Sept. 26 to receive a lifetime achievement award at a film festival.
He pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 but fled the United States in 1978 before he was sentenced because he believed a judge might overrule a plea bargain and sentence him to 50 years in prison.
The Polish-born filmmaker faces up to two years in a U.S. prison if he is extradited, but if he does not agree to go voluntarily, the process could take many months or even years.
In October, the court rejected a previous bail application, saying there was a risk he might flee to avoid a potential jail sentence, which would mean separation from his French wife and their two children.
When it rejected bail on that occasion, the court quoted Polanski's lawyer as saying longer detention could lead to a loss of about $40 million that investors had put up and ruinous damages claims against him if the director was unable to finish his new movie "The Ghost", due for its premiere at the Berlin film festival in February.
His arrest led to a political storm in France after Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand and prominent artists sprang to his defence. Others argued that Polanski's status should not shield him from the law.
His films include "The Pianist" in 2002 for which he won an Academy Award, "Rosemary's Baby," "Repulsion" and "Knife in the Water".
(Additional reporting by Catherine Bosley; editing by Andrew Dobbie)
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
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