by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Sept. 28, 2009
All Rights Reserved.

           Thirty-two years after Academy Award winning director Roman Polanski was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl, Swiss police in Zurich arrested the 76-year-old en route to the Zurich Film Festival.  Polanski served 42 days in Los Angeles County detention before a plea deal fell apart, prompting him to flee to France.  Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said Polanski was sought by U.S. authorities for the 1977 rape and molestation of Samantha Geimer, now a 45-year-old housewife.  Polanski apparently settled out-of-court with Geimer years ago for an undisclosed sum.  She has insisted for some time that she wanted the matter dropped and urged the Los Angeles County District Attorney to drop the case, indicating she was satisfied with the settlement.  “There was a valid arrest request and we knew when he was coming,” said Ministry spokesman Guido Blamer, justifying the arrest. 

            When the Swiss Justice Ministry calls Polanski’s arrest “valid,” it’s talking about a 32-year-old case where the victim has repeatedly asked the Los Angeles County District Attorney to drop it.  Before Polanski’s arrest for lewd acts on a minor, he was best known for “Chinatown” and “Rosemary’s Baby.”  Polanski’s French lawyer Georges Kiejman promised to fight extradition but conceded it was “too early to know” the outcome.  “For now we are trying to have the arrest warrant lifted in Zurich,” said Kiejman, because the French government doesn’t extradite its citizens, especially in a case so old and inconsequential.  Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley declined comment, especially since Polanski tried to get the D.A. to drop its case last winter.  On Feb. 18, 2009, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinosa rejected Polanski’s petition for dismissal.

            No court likes to see criminals flout the law, especially fleeing the system and seeking refuge in foreign lands.  Espinosa rejected Polanski’s motion of dismissal, insisting that he appear in court to receive any consideration.  Swiss Justice Ministry spokesman Guido Balmer said Polanski’s arrest was not influenced by politics but Swiss authorities recently agreed to allow the Internal Revenue Service to prosecute tax evasion cases through Swiss banking giant UBS.  “I know his films, they impressed me very much,” said Swiss Justice Minister Widmer-Schlumpf, insisting Polanski could not be given preferential treatment.  Swiss authorities had difficulty arresting and extraditing Nazi war criminals after WW II but suddenly seem so sacrosanct when in comes to Polanski’s alleged child abuse.  Before Swiss authorities consider extradition, they should look at the charges.

          Regardless of the Los Angeles District Atty., Swiss authorities shouldn’t play into a 32-year-old grudge match.  Even Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinosa admitted “substantial misconduct” by the DA in 1977 but declined to evaluate Polanski’s case unless the 76-year-old director appeared in court.  Espinosa reviewed evidence of prosecutorial misconduct and an HBO documentary, “Roman Polanski:  Wanted and Desitred,” alleging manipulation by a now retired prosecutor.  Instead of playing hardball, if Cooley wishes to resolve Polanski’s case equitably, he needs to signal to Polanski’s attorney that the DA has no intent of ordering Polanski back to jail.  Polanski, who’s married and has two children with French actress Emanuelle Seigner, would have appeared in court last February if the DA signaled they sought resolution without imposing more jail-time.

            Polanski, a native of France, knows his share of tragedy with his mother dying at the Nazi’s Auschwitz death camp and his wife actress Sharon Tate slaughtered in 1969 with her unborn child by followers of Charles Manson at private home near Beverly Hills.  Though originally charged in 1977 with performing unlawful sex acts on a minor, he only pled guilty to one charge.  After serving 42 days of detention, when the judge reneged on his plea deal, Polanski escaped to France where he continued his directorial career.  His 2002 film the “Pianist,” starring American actor Adrien Brody, won Polanski an Academy Award for Best Director.  Polanski was scheduled to be honored at the Zurich Film Festival, before plucked from the Zurich airport.  Calling his arrest “not only a grotesque farce of justice, but also an immense cultural scandal,” the Swiss Directors’ Association rebuked Swiss authorities.

            Polanski’s arrest flies in the face of justice, representing an egregious vendetta by the Los Angeles District Attorney.  When Polanski’s lawyers tried to resolve the matter last February, the DA should have assured the 76-year-old director that he faced no more jail-time.  Had they reassured him, he would have, as Judge Espinosa requested, showed up in Los Angeles Superior Court.  Polanski’s victim has appeared publicly for years asking the DA to drop all pending charges.  She resolved the matter years ago with Polanski out-of-court.  Cooley’s office should stop grandstanding and accept that the matter was already ended satisfactorily.  “Polanski’s rights be fully respected and that the case would quickly result in a favorable outcome,” said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, urging Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey to release Polanski and reject the extradition request.

 John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.