Took ’em long enough. On Thursday American authorities formally submitted their request to extradite filmmaker Roman Polanski who fled the U.S. in 1978 before sentencing was to occur on a unlawful sex crime case.
Polanski has been in a Swiss prison since September 26 when was apprehended at a Zurich film festival where he was to receive a Lifetime Achievement award.
Paperwork now filed, next steps are the Swiss justice ministry reviewing the petition and then making a decision. Polanski will have the chance to appeal if their ruling is not in his favor and his attorneys estimate he could be waiting in jail for six months or more.
According to recent email documents obtained by the AP, U.S. authorities were closely monitoring Polanski’s whereabouts and almost attempted to nab him three days before his film festival appearance in Austria. They ultimately decided against filing a warrant for him in that country when they found themselves unsure if an extradition process from Austrian official would be as easy or accommodating. [Reuters/NYTimes]