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"Our request to revoke house arrest was
accepted by the judge without further measures, so Mr. Haggis is
free," said Michele Laforgia, his lawyer, adding that he still
did not know if his client wanted to leave Italy.
Haggis was arrested on June 19 after a British woman accused him
of raping her over a two-day period in the southern Italian town
of Ostuni, where he was teaching at a film event.
He denied the allegations during an initial face-to-face hearing
with his accuser last week. "Paul Haggis explained the facts and
what happened, and he declared himself completely innocent,"
Laforgia had told reporters after the hearing.
Laforgia said sex between his client and the woman was "totally
consensual" during the three days they spent together, and she
had no signs of injury or violence as had been alleged by the
prosecution.
The 28-year-old woman gave a very different version of events
during the hearing, repeating the accusations against Haggis,
her lawyer, Claudio Strata, told reporters at the time.
Haggis, 69, wrote "Million Dollar Baby" and co-wrote and
directed "Crash," a crime drama for which he won two Oscars.
(Reporting by Emilio Parodi; Editing by Paul Simao)
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