Roman Polanski has made his first public appearance since being released on Monday from house arrest in Switzerland, attending the Montreux Jazz Festival.
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Polanski, 76, was detained last September in Zurich – where he was to receive a film festival award – on the basis of a United States request. He then spent nine months under house arrest in his chalet in Gstaad.
The film director watched his wife, actress and singer Emmanuelle Seigner, perform on stage at Montreux on Saturday evening.
US authorities want Polanski to face sentencing related to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in California in 1977.
Swiss officials turned down the request, citing potential technical faults and saying it failed to clarify whether the director of films including Chinatown and The Pianist had in fact served his sentence more than 30 years ago.
In an interview with Swiss television, Polanski thanked, “the millions of people who kept sending me messages of support during those nine long months”, as well as the residents of Gstaad.
“I would also certainly thank my wife Emmanuelle and my children, without whom I would have never been able to hold onto my dignity and perseverance,” Polanski said.
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Polanski verdict makes “legal sense”
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But opinions over the Atlantic differ, particularly among the justice authorities in Los Angeles who want to pursue a 33-year-old child rape case against Polanski. On Monday the Swiss authorities decided not to extradite the 76-year-old Oscar-winning director. Polanski was arrested in September 2009 in Zurich on his way to a film festival, before being…
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As the news spread, those in the legal and entertainment industries were quick to voice opinions. Readers have also been keen to put their two cents’ worth in. “Shock: The Swiss set Polanski free” was the headline on Time magazine’s website, saying that the decision practically guarantees that the 76-year-old director will be able to…
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The 76-year old Oscar-winning director, who was detained last September in Zurich and had been under house arrest, is a free man, according to Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. She said the decision had been taken following Washington’s refusal to give access to confidential documents. “In these circumstances it was not possible to exclude with the…
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