On 18 August 2015, it was reported that a Polish court had received the assistance that it requested from the United States, in connection with the extradition of the filmmaker Roman Polanski. Mr Polanski faces extradition to the US, for sentencing, in connection with a child sex conviction. A report is here.
1977 Sexual Assault Allegation
On 11 March 1977, Mr Polanski was arrested in Los Angeles, for the sexual assault of a 13 year old, during a photo shoot for French Vogue magazine. He was indicted on six counts of criminal behaviour, including rape.
As part of a plea bargain, Mr Polanski pleaded guilty to the charge of “unlawful sexual intercourse with a female under 18 years of age.” He served 42 days of the 90 day plea bargain, before being released.
Fearing that the judge presiding over his case would seek to impose a longer term of imprisonment, in 1978, Mr Polanski fled from the US to France, where he has lived for the majority of the time since.
2009 Switzerland Arrest
On 26 September 2009, Mr Polanski was arrested in Switzerland, at the request of US authorities. He was detained in custody for two months in Zurich, and then placed under house arrest.
On 12 July 2010, a Swiss court rejected the US request, and released Mr Polanski from custody.
2015 US Extradition Request
In late October 2014, Mr Polanski was questioned again, in relation to the US conviction, on a visit to Kraków, Poland, by prosecutors. He was released after prosecutors “deemed it not necessary to proceed with the arrest… in relation to the possible request [by US authorities] for his extradition”.
The US filed a further extradition request for Mr Polanski in January 2015.
According to Mr Polanski’s lawyer, on 8 May 2015, Judge Dariusz Mazur, sitting in the District Court in Kraków, requested further information from US authorities, in connection with the request, by 8 August 2015.
Judge Mazur then adjourned the extradition hearing until mid-September, and extended the deadline for receipt of the information requested from the US authorities.
18 August 2015: Legal Documents Received
On 18 August 2018, it was confirmed that Poland had received the legal documents it had requested from US authorities.
“The court is now looking into the documents and only after some time will it be able to assess whether it has received answers for all the queries addressed to the U.S. side,” a court spokeswoman said.
In the event that the court rules in favour of extradition, the case will be passed to the Minister of Justice, Cezary Grabarczyk, who will make the final decision on whether Mr Polanski’s extradition should take place.
An INTERPOL Red Notice, issued in 2005 at the request of US authorities, remains issued against Mr Polanski.
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