Swiss Court Accepts Polanski’s $4.5M Bail Request
Will Roman Polanski spend the holidays at his mountain chalet in Gstaad? That could well be the case after Polanski's latest bail offer, this time to the tune of $45 million, was accepted by a Swiss court Wednesday, although the 76-year-old director (continued).
Will Roman Polanski spend the holidays at his mountain chalet in Gstaad? That could well be the case after Polanski’s latest bail offer, this time to the tune of $4.5 million, was accepted by a Swiss court Wednesday, although the 76-year-old director is still considered a flight risk as he awaits possible extradition to the United States. –KA
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...“L.A. Now” in The Los Angeles Times:
Legal experts said the bail is likely to lengthen what is expected to be a fierce battle over whether Polanski should be extradited to Los Angeles to face sentencing for unlawful intercourse with a 13-year-old girl more than three decades ago.
The decision also raises other questions, given that Polanski fled from the U.S. just before his sentencing in 1978. Swiss justice officials have repeatedly denied his bail requests, saying he’s a flight risk.
Under the terms of the bail, Polanski would be restricted to a chalet he owns in Gstaad, a ski resort in the foothills of Mt. Blanc. The town has long been known as a celebrity hangout, with David Niven, Richard Burton and Roger Moore among its frequent visitors in the past.
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"The city jails are filled with people charged with misdemeanors only because they cannot pay," says a human rights lawyer. A proposal unanimously approved by the City Council will let people out on their own recognizance.
Update: The Iranian Justice Ministry has contradicted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and said the release of the two hikers who were sentenced to eight years in prison could be delayed.
On Thursday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was sprung from jail on bail in London, where he addressed a press throng, cracking wise about how justice in the British system is "not dead yet" and thanking his legal team and journalists who "were not all taken in .
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