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Swiss plan quietly for Polanski's bail release
Source: Agencies |
November 27, 2009, Friday
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ROMAN Polanski will be quietly transferred from a Zurich jail to house arrest in his Alpine chalet, Swiss authorities said yesterday, adding that the process will last at least another day.
Polanski was being held in a Swiss jail a day after a court granted him release on US$4.5 million bail, the Swiss Justice Ministry said. The 76-year-old director, who must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, was not scheduled for release yesterday, ministry spokesman Folco Galli said.
The transfer would be handled discreetly, Galli told The Associated Press.
"We don't want to show him off like an exotic animal," he said. "It will not be a matter of hours ... The bail has to be transferred, transport needs to be organized, and the house arrest must be organized."
The Swiss justice minister said she saw no reason to challenge the surprise decision, but Galli said a final decision has yet to be made on waiving an appeal. Authorities will also decide "in a couple of weeks" whether to extradite Polanski for fleeing sentencing in Los Angeles over three decades ago.
The bail decision was a major win for the director of "Rosemary's Baby," "Chinatown" and "The Pianist" after a series of legal setbacks following his September 26 arrest as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award at a film festival.
Polanski was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne and a sedative during a modeling shoot in 1977. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy, but he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse.
In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sentence him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation. The evaluator released Polanski after 42 days, but the judge said he was going to send him back to serve out the 90 days.
Polanski then fled the United States on February 1, 1978, the day he was to be sentenced, and has lived in France since. The court last month rejected Polanski's first bail offer, with his Gstaad chalet as collateral.
Before Wednesday's decision, Polanski offered a bank guarantee that would cause him to sacrifice his family's home in Paris if he flees.
"I am very happy and relieved," Mathilde Seigner, Polanski's sister-in-law told Le Parisien daily, adding that the director's imprisonment had "enormous consequences on a psychological level" for his children.
Polanski claims the judge and prosecutors in the US acted improperly in his case. His attorneys will argue before a California appeals court next month that the charges should be dismissed regardless of whether Polanski is extradited.
For the duration of the extradition procedures, it appears Polanski will be confined to his US$1.6 million chalet surrounded by snowcapped peaks on the outskirts of Gstaad, one of the most exclusive winter resorts in the world.
Polanski was being held in a Swiss jail a day after a court granted him release on US$4.5 million bail, the Swiss Justice Ministry said. The 76-year-old director, who must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, was not scheduled for release yesterday, ministry spokesman Folco Galli said.
The transfer would be handled discreetly, Galli told The Associated Press.
"We don't want to show him off like an exotic animal," he said. "It will not be a matter of hours ... The bail has to be transferred, transport needs to be organized, and the house arrest must be organized."
The Swiss justice minister said she saw no reason to challenge the surprise decision, but Galli said a final decision has yet to be made on waiving an appeal. Authorities will also decide "in a couple of weeks" whether to extradite Polanski for fleeing sentencing in Los Angeles over three decades ago.
The bail decision was a major win for the director of "Rosemary's Baby," "Chinatown" and "The Pianist" after a series of legal setbacks following his September 26 arrest as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award at a film festival.
Polanski was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne and a sedative during a modeling shoot in 1977. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy, but he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse.
In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sentence him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation. The evaluator released Polanski after 42 days, but the judge said he was going to send him back to serve out the 90 days.
Polanski then fled the United States on February 1, 1978, the day he was to be sentenced, and has lived in France since. The court last month rejected Polanski's first bail offer, with his Gstaad chalet as collateral.
Before Wednesday's decision, Polanski offered a bank guarantee that would cause him to sacrifice his family's home in Paris if he flees.
"I am very happy and relieved," Mathilde Seigner, Polanski's sister-in-law told Le Parisien daily, adding that the director's imprisonment had "enormous consequences on a psychological level" for his children.
Polanski claims the judge and prosecutors in the US acted improperly in his case. His attorneys will argue before a California appeals court next month that the charges should be dismissed regardless of whether Polanski is extradited.
For the duration of the extradition procedures, it appears Polanski will be confined to his US$1.6 million chalet surrounded by snowcapped peaks on the outskirts of Gstaad, one of the most exclusive winter resorts in the world.
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