Europe

Home page

Europe

Famous film director Roman Polanski arrested

28 September 2009 10:39 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Film director Roman Polanski has been taken into custody in Switzerland and faces extradition to the US for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977, BBC reported.
Mr Polanski, 76, was detained in Zurich on Saturday as he traveled from France to collect a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival.
Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said that because of agreements with the US, "when Mr Polanski arrived we had no choice from a legal point of view but to arrest him".
"He obviously has the right to appeal and I think he will do so," she added.

Foreign Minister of France Bernard Kouchner in his phone conversation with his Swiss counterpart Micheline Calmy-Rey called Switzerland to protect Polanskiâ€™s rights. He expressed his hope that the problem will be solved soon. French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said he had been "stunned" to hear about the arrest, and added that President Nicolas Sarkozy was following the case.

Foreign Minister of Poland Radoslav Sikorsky said he will call U.S. President Barack Obama to use right to pardon.
New UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova expressed her concern over Polanskiâ€™s arrest. Famous film directors Wong Kar-Wai, Ettore Scola, famous actress Monica Bellucci, actor Fanny Ardant appealed for Polanskiâ€™s release.