Polanski to be released on bail

Nov 25, 2009, 16:20 GMT

   Bellinzona, Switzerland - A Swiss court said Wednesday that film director Roman Polanski can be released from prison on bail of 4.5 million Swiss francs (4.5 million dollars), but must stay under house arrest.

   'The court judged that the bail offered ... combined with the other measures such as the deposit of identification documents and the assignment to his residence under electronic surveillance are considered sufficient to prevent the risk of fleeing,' said the Federal Criminal Tribunal (TFP) in the town of Bellinzona.

The bail in question is a 'substantial portion' of Polanski's wealth, the court reasoned.

   The Swiss Federal Office of Justice can rule within 10 days against the decision, which would she Polanski in house arrest at his holiday home in the exclusive Swiss ski resort of Gstaad.

   A previous request for release on bail had been rejected in late October by the Federal Office of Justice on the grounds that the risk of fleeing was too high.

   Polanski, 76, was arrested in Zurich on September 26, based on a US warrant issued in 1978 stemming from Polanski's admission to having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in California in 1977.

   Polanski fled the US after spending 42 days in prison for psychiatric tests and has never been sentenced.

   A Los Angeles court set a December 10 date for a hearing in the case against the Franco-Polish filmmaker, the New York Times said earlier this month.

   In the December hearing, Polanski's lawyers are to appeal a US Superior Court decision from May, which rejected Polanski's request to close the case against him owing to legal flaws in the 1978 proceedings. The court argued that Polanski had to argue his case personally.

   The US requested his extradition two weeks ago. Polanski is expected to fight the extradition.

If found guilty of the charges in the United States, Polanski is threatened with two years in year, instead of the original 50 years.