Roman Polanski in a Polish courtroom in October 2015 (Getty)
Poland’s new justice minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, revived an attempt to have film director Roman Polanski, 82, extradited to the U.S. back in May 2016. In February 2017, TMZ reported that Polanski and his attorney, Harland Braun, are going to make an attempt to end the child rape case once and for all.
Polanski has been wanted in the U.S. for almost four decades after he pleaded guilty to charges of having sexual intercourse with Samantha Geimer, who was 13 years old at the time. Polanski was also accused of drugging Geimer.
TMZ reported on February 26 that Braun asked a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to unseal a transcript of the original prosecutor in the case. Braun wants to reach a deal that will allow Polanski to travel to the U.S. and end his fugitive status. Polanski wants to be able to visit Sharon Tate’s grave and see his daughter in London. However, Braun also wannts to make sure Polanski doesn’t have to serve additional jailtime.
Prosecutors tried to have Polanski extradited in 2015, but the effort failed. With a more conservative government now in power, Ziobro said in a statement today that he believes Polanski must be returned to the U.S. in accordance with the extradition treaty between the two countries.
Here’s the facts of the case.
1. Polanski Was Briefly Jailed in California
Polanski in the 1970s (Getty)
Polanski agreed to plead guilty in 1977 and struck a deal with a judge at the time. He did spend 42 days in jail, but fled the country in 1978, just before sentencing since he believed that the judge would sentence him for a longer period, notes The Associated Press.
Since then, Polanski has been wanted in the U.S. and has never re-entered the country. Still, he continues to work with Hollywood stars to this day and won the Academy Award for Best Director for 2002’s The Pianist.
The U.S. famously tried to have him extradited from Switzerland in 2009, but failed. Instead, Polanski lived under house arrest for 10 months.
2. Geimer Has Moved on With Her Life
Samantha Geimer in 2013 (Getty)
In 2013, Geimer, now 52, published a memoir titled The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski. She used a photo taken by Polanski, three weeks before Polanski raped her at Jack Nicholson’s house, as the cover. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the photo was discovered when Geimer filed a civil suit against the Chinatown director in 1988. Polanski agreed to pay her $500,000.
Geimer has said she moved on with her life. Last year, she told NBC News that she was “very pleased” that the Polish court rejected Polanski’s extradition. She said:
I believe they did the right thing and made the right decision given all the fact. Since I’m well aware of how long this has been going on, I’m very pleased and happy.
Geimer added that Polanski “deserves closure and to be allowed to put this behind him.”
3. Polanski’s Lawyer Wasn’t Surprised Today
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According to The New York Times, Polanski’s lawyer, Jan Olszewski, told Polan’s TVN24 that he wasn’t surprised. They expected the new minister to do this.
“We had been expecting the minister to do it,” Olszewski said. “We are not pondering here the question of whether Polanski is guilty or not — the judge was very clear in this regard… We are discussing whether Roman Polanski can be extradited. These are two different things.”
Polanski’s legal team have long argued that the charges should be dropped, citing judicial misconduct during the case.
4. Polanski Is Wanted in 188 Countries
Polanski at the 2014 Cesar Film Awards (Getty)
Polanski’s ability to travel is limited. He lives in Paris and has only been able to travel to Switzerland and Poland. In 2009, Interpol issued a reminder that the warrant for the director’s arrest is valid in 188 countries.
Ziobro suggested that Polanski has been able to avoid extradition due to his celebrity status. Polanski did play a major role in raising Poland’s standing in the film world as a member of the Polish New Wave movement in the ’60s. He is also a Holocaust survivor.
5. Polanski Wanted to Be Sentenced in Absentia
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In 2009, Polanski asked to be sentenced without being present in a Los Angeles court, a move that Geimer had supported, to sentenced to time served. Los Angeles prosecutors didn’t and said that Polanski could not “dictate” the case from abroad.
“This convicted felon, this child rapist, must surrender to the court,” prosecutor David Walgren said during a hearing at the time, reports Reuters.
A Los Angeles judge denied Polanski’s request and agreed that he needed to come to California.
