Polish judge rejects extradition for Polanski; will US continue to pursue case?
Roman Polanski at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Image from Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock.com.
An Oscar-winning film director has won another round in a long-standing battle to avoid extradition to the U.S., where he has admitted having unlawful sex with a minor and was convicted in 1977 after fleeing the country.
A Polish judge on Friday ruled against extraditing Roman Polanski, whose age is given as 82 or 83. Judge Dariusz Mazur spent two hours explaining his reasoning, USA Today reports. But the bottom line was: “I find no rational answer to the question: What is the real point of the U.S. extradition request?”
Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey said it was up to the U.S. Department of State to decide whether to continue to try to extradite Polanski. However, she said her office intends to continue its efforts to hold him accountable for the long-ago sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl, reports the Associated Press.
“I feel relieved but tired … it cost me a lot of energy, a lot of time,” Polanski told reporters in Krakow, where the hearing was held, BBC News reports.
A lawyer for the victim says his client would like to see the extradition effort dropped, the Associated Press reports.
“Both the judicial systems of Poland and Switzerland are able to do what the judicial system of the United States seems unable to do, and that is put the matter behind us,” said her attorney, Lawrence Silver.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Polanski Child-Sex Case Survives But Appeals Court Seeks Probe of Long-Ago Trial Judge”
ABAJournal.com: “Fighting Extradition in Child-Sex Case, Polanski Claims More Long-Ago Judicial Misconduct”
ABAJournal.com: “US seeks fugitive director Roman Polanski’s extradition from Poland over 1977 conviction”
