Polanski seeks dismissal

2009-12-09 12:29

Los Angeles - Lawyers for Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski on Thursday will ask a California appeals court to dismiss his child sex conviction as he seeks to avoid extradition to the US.

A hearing on the more than 30-year-old case will be held on Thursday at 18:00 GMT in the court of appeals for the second district in Los Angeles. That as Polanski, now 76, is under house arrest in his Swiss chalet in Gstaad.

His defence is making yet another attempt to have proceedings against him dropped, now on their claim that he did not receive a fair trial at the time of the crime in 1977.

The French-Polish film director has been hunted by the US ever since he fled in 1978 after admitting unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.

The maker of Chinatown and other classics was detained on September 26 as he arrived in Switzerland to collect an award for his career at the Zurich film festival.

On alert

After weeks in jail cells, he will be able to enjoy the picturesque grounds of the 1 800m² Gstaad property, and officials have said he would be allowed to receive any visitors he wants.

But Polanski was warned that he will forfeit his bail if he ventures any further, while Interpol has placed countries on alert in case he tries to flee Switzerland.

Polanski's lawyers have said he will not accept extradition, which is still being examined by Swiss authorities.

"Mr Polanski probably wants his lawyers to argue about how the charges against him should be dismissed and I think what the judges would be interested in, instead, is whether the appeal should be dismissed, not the charges against him but the appeal, because everything has changed since Mr Polanski has now been caught," said Jean Rosenbluth, a University of Soputhern California law professor.

He said the appeals court might hold off on its decision with a delay, or eliminate the appeal altogether, while waiting for Polanski to be brought to the US.

Lawyers for the victim in the case, Samantha Geir, filed a court motion in October in Los Angeles, renewing calls for the case against the director to be dismissed because of the anguish the renewed attention was causing her.

- SAPA