Swiss won't extradite Polanski till US case is done

[February 13, 2010]  GENEVA (AP) -- Swiss authorities say they won't extradite director Roman Polanski to the United States until Los Angeles courts rule definitively that he must face further sentencing in person in a 32-year-old sex case.

The Justice Ministry says it would make no sense to extradite Polanski while he seeks a resolution to his U.S. case in absentia for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

Polanski's lawyer insists that the 76-year-old filmmaker served his full sentence in 1978 when he underwent a diagnostic study at a California prison for 42 days. Los Angeles courts have so far disagreed and Polanski's lawyers have promised to appeal.

Swiss official Rudolf Wyss told the AP on Friday that Polanski's extradition depends on a clear decision from the Los Angeles court system.

[Associated Press]

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