Delay expected in Polański extradition decision
PR dla Zagranicy
Jo Harper
12.08.2015 12:47
A Polish court which is to decide whether film director Roman Polański is to be extradited to the US said on Wednesday it had not received requested legal help from the US before the deadline expired, which may prove to be a stumbling block in the case.
Star-Regisseur Roman PolańskiBild: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
In May the court requested more information from the US authorities by 8 August and adjourned the case until mid-September. The court extended the deadline for the document to be delivered by post.
Judge Waldemar Żurek from the district court in the southern city of Kraków told Reuters that under Polish law if the court rules in favour of the extradition, the case will then be passed on to the justice minister, who will make the final decision.
In 2009, Polański was arrested in Zurich on a US warrant and placed under house arrest. He was freed in 2010 after Swiss authorities decided not to extradite him.
On 11 March 1977, Polański, then 43 years old, was arrested in Los Angeles for the sexual assault of 13-year-old Samantha Geimer. He was indicted on six counts of criminal behaviour, including statutory rape and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
As a result of a plea bargain, Polański pleaded guilty to the charge of "Unlawful Sexual Intercourse with a minor," and was ordered to undergo 90 days of psychiatric evaluation at California Institution for Men at Chino.
Upon learning of the judge's plans, Polański fled to France on 1 February 1978, just hours before sentencing. As a French citizen, he has been protected from extradition and has lived mostly in France since then. The charges were never dismissed and still remain pending. (jh/rk)