Polanski begins house arrest in Switzerland

Dec 4, 2009, 13:57 GMT

   Gstaad, Switzerland - Movie director Roman Polanski was placed under house arrest on Friday after two months in a Swiss prison, pending extradition to the United States for a sex offence committed 32 years ago.

The 76-year-old star director of Chinatown and The Pianist was brought in a limousine to his chalet in the Swiss ski resort Gstaad where he is to live under electronic surveillance during the ongoing extradition process.

   A Swiss court last Wednesday ruled Polanski, arrested September 27 in Zurich after three decades of evading a US arrest warrant for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977, could be released from prison on bail of 4.5 million Swiss francs (4.5 million dollars), a 'substantial portion' of his wealth.

   The court thus overturned a decision of the Swiss justice ministry which shortly after his arrest deemed that releasing Polanski on bail or putting him under house arrest would allow him to flee the Alpine country.

   Among the conditions of his house arrest, Polanski has been placed under electronic surveillance, including an ankle brace emitting a signal to track his movements. He is not permitted to leave his property at any time.

Polanski's chalet and property were also outfitted with an electronic surveillance system which will send an alarm should he attempt to leave.

Polanski's arrest aroused anger in Switzerland and accusations that the Alpine country was bowing too much to US demands.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy voiced opposition to the arrest of the cultural icon as well, telling the Le Figaro daily that 'it is not good administration of justice to reach a verdict 32 years after the facts and when the accused is 76 years old.'

   If the extradition succeeds, Polanski is threatened with two years in jail in the US, instead of the original 50 years.

The victim in the long-standing rape case, now 46-year-old mother of three Samantha Geimerin, in late October asked a US appellate court to drop the charges against him. She told the Los Angeles Times the relentless publicity surrounding the case was disrupting her family life, her work and health.