Roman Polanski extradition request rejected

A Polish court on Friday rejected a US request to extradite film-maker Roman Polanski over a 1977 child sex conviction, saying his extradition was “inadmissible”.

The decision is not legally binding, as prosecutors can now appeal the ruling. Should the court make a legally binding decision to grant the US request, it will be up to the justice minister to decide on the fate of the 82-year-old Polanski.

“(Roman Polanski’s) extradition is inadmissible” said Judge Dariusz Mazur at the district court in the southern city of Krakow. Extraditing Polanski would lead to him being held in harsh conditions for weeks or months in the United States while his case was being processed, Mazur said. The Oscar-winning director pleaded guilty in 1977 to having sex with a 13-year-old girl during a photo shoot in Los Angeles.

Polanski served 42 days in jail after a plea bargain. He fled the United States the following year to Britain and then to France, believing the judge hearing his case could overrule the deal and put him in jail for years.