Swiss Free Polanski, Refuse to Extradite

US didn't make case for extradition on 33-year-old charges, say Swiss
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 12, 2010 7:27 AM CDT
Swiss Free Polanski, Refuse to Extradite
FILE - In this is Jan. 15, 2009 file photo, film director Roman Polanski looks on in Montrouge, France. The Swiss government says it will make an announcement Monday July 12, 2010 about Roman Polanski's extradition to the United States for a 1977 sex case. The government says Justice Minister Eveline...   (Michel Euler)

It's over: The Swiss government declared Roman Polanski a free man today after rejecting a US request to extradite him on a charge of having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl. The Swiss blamed US authorities for failing to provide confidential testimony about Polanski's sentencing procedure in 1977-1978. The Justice Ministry also said that national interests were taken into consideration in the decision.

"The 76-year-old French-Polish film director Roman Polanski will not be extradited to the USA," the ministry said in a statement. "The freedom-restricting measures against him have been revoked." It was unclear if Polanski had already left his Swiss chalet in the resort of Gstaad, where he has been held under house arrest since December. (More Roman Polanski stories.)

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