SWISS REFUSE TO EXTRADITE POLANSKI

Director Roman Polanski was released from all “freedom restricting measures” today (Monday) following a decision by Swiss authorities to refuse to extradite him to the United States. He is wanted in California on fugitive charges after failing to appear for sentencing in 1977 on charges of having had sex with a 13-year-old girl. A statement by the Swiss Justice Ministry said somewhat cryptically, “The reason for the decision lies in the fact that it was not possible to exclude with the necessary certainty a fault in the US extraditionary request.” This was taken to refer to unanswered questions raised by Swiss authorities about allegations of judicial misconduct in the original case.