Lawyer says jail is making Polanski depressed
Roman Polanski has spent more than two weeks in a Swiss jail, time that his lawyer said is taking its toll on the filmmaker.
In an interview with Sunday’s Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper, Paris-based lawyer Hervé Temime said he visited Polanski in prison on Friday and found the director in “a troubling mood” and “very depressed”.
Polanski, 76, was arrested at Zurich airport on September 26 on an international warrant tied to a 1977 child-sex case in Los Angeles.
Swiss authorities denied his request to be released from prison while awaiting possible extradition to the United States to face sentencing in the case. They said it was too likely he would flee despite assurances to the contrary from his lawyer.
“He would meet all the requirements and remain in Switzerland until the extradition process comes to conclusion,” Temime said. The filmmaker has one more appeal to be released that is moving through Switzerland’s legal system.
The United States has 60 days from Polanski’s arrest to make a formal request to have the Oscar-winning director sent back to the US. Switzerland has not received it.
swissinfo.ch and agencies
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.