Poland says ‘no’ to Polanski extradition
Print Edition
POLAND’S supreme court yesterday upheld an earlier verdict that Oscar-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski cannot be extradited to the United States over a 1977 child sex conviction, bringing a definitive end to the Polish case.
The top court’s verdict marks a defeat for Polish Prosecutor General and Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who wanted to hand Polanski over to US.
“We are very happy that the case is finally over,” said Jan Olszewski, one of Polanski’s lawyers.
The US requested Polanski’s extradition from Poland after he made a high-profile appearance in Warsaw in 2014.
A Polish district court in the city of Krakow, where Polanski keeps an apartment, rejected the request last October.
But Poland’s new conservative government merged the posts of justice minister and prosecutor general.
This opened a way to request an annulment of the lower court’s ruling.
Earlier this year, Prosecutor General Ziobro filed for the annulment, arguing that Polanski’s celebrity status had helped him escape justice.
The supreme court rejected Ziobro’s request yesterday.
“The supreme court ... rejects the request for annulment,” judge Michal Laskowski said.
Polanski’s lawyers said the filmmaker has been deeply affected by the Polish case, which prevented him from attending the funeral of another Oscar-winning Polish film director, Andrzej Wajda, in October.
The case of the Polish-born Polanski, now 83, remains a cause celebre after nearly four decades. He pleaded guilty in 1977 to having sex with a 13-year-old girl and served 42 days in jail after a plea bargain.
But he later fled, fearing a lengthy jail sentence if the agreement was overruled.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
