Polish court rules against extradition of Polański
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
30.10.2015 14:16
A Polish court ruled against the extradition to the US of director Roman Polański on Friday over a 1977 case of unlawful sex with a minor.
Judge Dariusz Mazur in court on Friday, Kraków. Photo: PAP/Jacek Bednarczyk
Polański did not appear in the Kraków court on Friday and it was incorrectly reported that he left Poland for France on a private jet, an hour before the ruling was declared.
Regardless of the ruling, the prosecution maintains the right to appeal. If the appeal court reverses the ruling, the final decision lies with the minister of justice.
The socially conservative Law and Justice party, which won Sunday's general election after eight years out of power, has given every indication that it will oppose today's ruling.
If Law and Justice's claims are confirmed, the director's plans to film his next movie in Poland could be in disarray.
The screenplay, an adaptation of Robert Harris's thriller 'An Officer and a Spy', explores the Dreyfus Affair, a notorious miscarriage of justice in pre-World War I France.
The Kraków hearings began in February 2015, after US authorities filed a request for the extradition of the director.
Polański has divided his time between France and Poland over the last five years, after a US bid for the director to be deported from Switzerland failed. (nh/rk)
Click here for the background on the Polanski extradition case