Polanski Petition

[remadi]

Last night lila_blue_b made post about the petition actors/directors/etc have signed requesting the release of Roman Polanski from Swiss custody and that he not be extradited to the US. Against my better judgment, because I'm a curious person, I looked googled the petition to find out what people were saying about his arrest. It was definitely a dumb decision to make at midnight, because the support for his release and the quotes I found got me really angry and riled up and I couldn't go to bed for hours because of it.

So, in short, I did the only 'productive' thing I could think of at the time and I emailed the address displayed on the petition website and told them what I thought about their petition. (I was very proud with how rational and not crazy I sounded, because I was still very angry and frustrated at the entire thing.) I got a response from them and just wanted to post it for those interested.

Along with the great many reactions of anger we received in support of Roman Polanski, we also received several reactions hostile to the position taken by SACD.

 

Generally speaking, these reactions do not take into account the petition’s actual content, which is why I would like to make these clarifications.

 

We have never claimed that Roman Polanski is innocent.

 

What he did in 1977 is unacceptable and, at the time, he himself pleaded guilty. As a result, he spent several weeks in prison and agreed to be treated in a clinic for sex offenders. It was only in the face of the contradictory, exorbitant statements by the federal judge in charge of the case that he chose to flee the United States .

 

Let us simply recall - and, once again, this is in no way an excuse for his misdeed - that, subsequently, the judge publicly recognized that he had undertaken a personal campaign in the context of his election. We must remember that he had gone so far as to talk of sentencing Roman Polanski to a fifty-year prison term. We can also state that this judge used Roman Polanski’s celebrity and reputation for his own glory. And most of all, we must recall that he was taken off the case because of his obvious mishandling of the situation.

 

We are not judges; it is not for us to condemn or clear anyone of these serious charges.

 

We deem it fundamental, however, to express our indignation at the use of a cultural event as a trap for a high-profile operation putting justice in the limelight.

 

On the one hand, film festivals have always been extraterritorial venues. Thanks to this principle, dissidents of all kinds, sometimes political activists facing arrest in their own countries, have been able to attend them freely to present their works. So far, no one had ever been arrested for accepting a public invitation for a festival. What can we say, now, if others, for whatever reason, repeat this situation? We can fear that a precedent has been set, with serious consequences for freedom of expression.

 

On the other hand, Roman Polanski often went to Switzerland , where he has a house. This is why we can only wonder about the reasons that led Swiss justice to arrest him in those circumstances, in an operation that attracted tremendous media attention, something particularly revolting for us.

 

It is not a matter of “rich and affluent” people or “celebrities” defending one of their own. In fact, it is the opposite. Who can claim that what just happened to Roman Polanski could ever have happened to an anonymous fugitive from justice? Would an unknown man on the street have been arrested in such a spectacular way when he was not trying to hide, for offences committed thirty-two years ago, which means they are subject to the statute of limitations in the country - France - of which he is now a citizen, and while the victim herself began asking long ago that all prosecution be stopped?

 

 It is only for war crimes and crimes against humanity that there is no statute of limitations. This is because legislators considered that these were the only crimes for which there could be no pardon or redemption.

 

It is because we are convinced that justice should be the same for everyone; it is because we believe that justice should not be a performance whose initiatives can vary according to the media hype they attract, and also because we consider that people change and that, after 32 years, all justiciable persons may have made amends, that we request Roman Polanski’s release.

 

 

Jacques Fansten, President of SACD

I've vented my anger and frustration and then read happy ending fluff before I went to bed, so I am much better today and don't expect to get riled up about it again, but I just wanted to share this letter as I feel it explains their background and feelings better than the petition does.

Comments

[tiny-increments.livejournal.com]

I haven't been following this story at all, save for the little blips I happen to hear on MSNBC, etc. but the statute of limitations was the first thing that popped into my head. Can they actually, legally hold him 32 years after the crime occurred? And wasn't he charged in the case? If so, arresting him is double jeopardy, unless he committed another crime in the meantime.

Once again, I plead my ignorance and would love to be enlightened to the deeper aspects of the story, but his arrest seems a little odd to me.

[remadi.livejournal.com]

Roman Polanski was charged with rape and sodomy and, after the 13 year old victim testified to him giving her champagne and a sedative drug and then raping her, he pled guilty to having “unlawful sex with a minor”. (They were at Jack Nicholson’s home and were supposed to be doing a photo shoot for Vogue.) He went to jail for 42 days for a psychiatric evaluation and then was released for 90 days to allow him to complete his then-current project (which also allowed for him to travel abroad.) According to a documentary about it, because of the plea bargain, all sides were expecting minimal sentencing to occur – most likely probation. He fled to the safety of France after he found out the judge was planning on sentencing him to jail for long time (contrary to the plea agreement.) (Apparently the judge had been in contact with someone in the district attorney who was not involved with the case and is a point of contention for the defendant.)

Since then, the victim has asked that Polanski be allowed back in the US and that he not be sentenced. Polanski has stayed away from traveling to countries that have extradition agreements with the US and has continued to live in France who refuses to turn Polanski over to the US since he is a French citizen. He was arrested in Switzerland when he traveled to the country to attend the Zurich Film Festival where he was supposed to be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award. He’s currently being held in Switzerland and the US must make a formal extradition request within 40 days.

Statute of limitations doesn’t apply to this because he had already been charged and plead guilty to his crimes. He just fled before he was sentenced.