Outcry over Polanski's detention

Roman Polanski has not set foot in the US for more than 30 years


Politicians and Hollywood heavyweights have rallied behind director Roman Polanski following his arrest.

French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner called the detention of the film-maker - a French citizen - in Switzerland a "bit sinister".

According to trade paper Screen Daily, Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein is also backing the director.

A lawyer acting for Mr Polanski said he will challenge his arrest and any attempts to extradite him to the US.

Mr Polanski, 76, is currently in custody in a Zurich prison.

The French-born Polish director was detained on Saturday as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award.



Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley comments on the arrest of Roman Polanski in Switzerland

"We're calling on every film-maker we can to help fix this terrible situation," Weinstein said.

US prosecutors want Mr Polanski to return to be sentenced for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

He pleaded guilty at the time as part of a plea bargain but then fled abroad.

A petition has been signed by film-makers and actors including Monica Bellucci and Fanny Ardant expressing dismay at Mr Polanski's arrest.

Culture minister Frederic Mitterand said President Sarkozy was following the case "with great attention".

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8277886.stm

I think it's bullshit and double standards that whole world wants to defend him. If he was mr. nobody noone would lift a finger and say rot in jail pedophile. 

Yeah, I have no sympathy for pedophiles, no matter what the circumstances. Arrest him please.

He didn't serve his sentence, he needs to do that. It seems to me that if you flee the country to avoid the justice system you should be extradited back, no matter what the crime was, to serve your time. If anything it just reinforces your guilt and the obstruction to justice should amount to extra time served.

I can't judge as I don't really know the specifics of the case. But I have the same stance as Montana though, I have no sympathy for pedophiles.

Yeah, it's quite ridiculous. Look, celebrities: you can't go around buggering kids, no matter how brilliant Rosemary's Baby was.

Why are so many filmmakers supporting him? He needs to serve his time. 

I guess they would want off the same way they want Polanski to get off, along the lines of elite thinking where they are too famous or too wealthy to be subject to the same justice as common people.  I'm tired of CEOs and rockstars getting off easy.

The victim wants no part of this, but since he's already sentenced, she doesn't need to get involved. Lock the guy up. He deserves no special treatment, just because he's famous.

He anally raped a 13 year old girl.

He never served a sentence for it. He needs to pay for what he did. Simple as that.

It's not all that black and white. My own moral standards say to lock his ass up. However, the case he got convicted in was kinda a sham, the judge that convicted him turned out to be an anti-semite, and the laws back in the 1970's were not as harsh as they are now. In California back when this happened, no one had been locked up for the charges he faced in over two years. He was getting special treatment in this case, but not in a good way.

I think the only fair thing is to retry the case and see what happens.

I hope they let him make movies in jail though, he is good.

We wouldn't be talking about this if France would've extradited him back to the US, but of course, since he's a French citizen, they wouldn't. It's outrageous that it's taken this long to arrest him. Put him in jail where he belongs.