Roman Polanski arrested in Zürich

[Sahib]

And the stance of the Polish government, which on one hand passes a very restrictive anti-pedophilia law (which actually makes it a crime to advocate the so-called "good pedophilia") and at the same time defends the guy is disgustingly hypocritical and populist.

Actually I saw Tusk statement and he was rather reserved about this. Basically said that Polanski should get the same help as every Polish citizen in the same circumstances. It seems Radek Sikorski acted a bit over-zealously on his own.

[DGuller]

Actually I saw Tusk statement and he was rather reserved about this. Basically said that Polanski should get the same help as every Polish citizen in the same circumstances. It seems Radek Sikorski acted a bit over-zealously on his own.

About time.  I guess somebody reminded Poles that Polanski is Jewish.

[merithyn]

How did this girl look?
Everyone is yelling 'pervert!!!' and 'paedo!' and all that but she could well have looked 16.
Not a total defence of course but it negates things a little.

He knew her age, if that's what you're asking.

[merithyn]

and yet she (the victim... the only person harmed by Polanski in this scenario) denies any harm being done. She has to continually relive all this shit... at least now that he's arrested and likely to get a worse sentence than any other rapist maybe that will be over for her? Nope. She still has to live with it.

I think on any 30 year old warrant there is pause to be given to make sure that after all this time, things are still wrapped up correctly. I'm not saying he shouldn't do time. But If it was something that was important to anyone they could have caught him any time they really wanted over the years. Why now?

Are US law enforcement so incompetent that they can't catch a famous movie Director/star whose whereabouts are always known?

Bah. too bad this isn't actually about the crime committed. I noticed too that Marc Emery is finally surrendering for extradition. Maybe it's more to do with USA flexing it's muscles in areas that they feel comfortable. Canada & Switzerland. Wow good job catching those guys who pled guilty.

So you're saying this should just be forgotten? He drugged and raped a child, and it should just be... forgotten. Because he had the fortitude to stay out of the States for 30 years?

Maybe it could have been done sooner. Maybe they should have tried harder. But the reality is that he did the crime and should pay the time. I feel for the child/woman, but as you said, she's going to have to live with this forever regardless of what happens.

[Jaron]

Lets not forget that Buddha is bisexual (quote/unquote) and probably a pervert himself. He probably sees part of himself in Polanski.

[Zoupa]

So France does not extradite citizens?

So a French person can go outside France, commit some crime, then go back to France and be secure in the knowledge that he is safe from prosecution?

Yes, especially if the crime was committed in the US.

Ask Seedy if we're uncooperative about police work.

[CountDeMoney]

and yet she (the victim... the only person harmed by Polanski in this scenario) denies any harm being done.

She didn't deny it in the 1970s.  You know, when she was a rape victim.

Are US law enforcement so incompetent that they can't catch a famous movie Director/star whose whereabouts are always known?

What are they supposed to do? Invade?

Stop defending kiddiefuckers.

[CountDeMoney]

So France does not extradite citizens?

So a French person can go outside France, commit some crime, then go back to France and be secure in the knowledge that he is safe from prosecution?

Yes, especially if the crime was committed in the US.

Ask Seedy if we're uncooperative about police work.

Part of the deal was to keep Gore Vidal over there.

[CountDeMoney]

and essentially arguing he should not be tried because he is a great movie director is so retarded and ridiculous.

It's especially retarded and ridiculous, what with him already being tried.  He accepted a plea bargain.
He skipped out on his sentencing, remember. 

Of course, I expected this flurry of nonsense from France, land of Gerard "Yeah, we had gang bang rapes when I was younger" Depardieu.  The French have always had a soft spot for all types of love.  Even kiddiebanging.

[CountDeMoney]

I'm not sure that should even count as molestation. Creepy and weird, yes, but a foot is not a sex organ.

Doesn't always have to involve a sex organ.

[merithyn]

and essentially arguing he should not be tried because he is a great movie director is so retarded and ridiculous.

It's especially retarded and ridiculous, what with him already being tried.  He accepted a plea bargain.
He skipped out on his sentencing, remember. 

Of course, I expected this flurry of nonsense from France, land of Gerard "Yeah, we had gang bang rapes when I was younger" Depardieu.  The French have always had a soft spot for all types of love.  Even kiddiebanging.

To be fair, Depardieu says that was a mistranslation of what he said, and even if it wasn't, he was only nine. Not quite old enough to hold accountable.

He's a dick for any number of other reasons - basically a talented thug - but the gang rape is questionable.

[citizen k]

Roman Polanski's Arrest: Why the French Are Outraged
By BRUCE CRUMLEY


Although the cultural divide between Europe and the U.S. has narrowed over the years, the legal fate of director Roman Polanski shows there are still major differences. Polanski's arrest in Switzerland on Sept. 26 was greeted with satisfaction in the U.S., where authorities hope he will face sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. Europeans, meanwhile, are shocked and dismayed that an internationally acclaimed artist could be jailed for such an old offense.

"To see him thrown to the lions and put in prison because of ancient history - and as he was traveling to an event honoring him - is absolutely horrifying," French Culture Minister FrÉdÉric Mitterrand said after Polanski was arrested upon arrival in Switzerland to attend the Zurich Film Festival, where he was to receive a lifetime achievement award. "There's an America we love and an America that scares us, and it's that latter America that has just shown us its face." In comments that appeared to be directed at Swiss and American authorities to free Polanski, Mitterrand added that both he and French President Nicolas Sarkozy hoped for a "rapid resolution to the situation which would allow Roman Polanski to rejoin his family as quickly as possible." (See the top 25 crimes of the century.)

Polanski, who won an Academy Award in 2003 for directing The Pianist, admitted to having unlawful sexual intercourse with 13-year-old Samantha Geimer as part of a plea bargain in which other charges - including drugging and raping the girl - were dropped. However, fearful that the Los Angeles judge in the case was about to renege on the deal and slap him with a long prison sentence, Polanski fled the U.S. in 1978 and never returned. He has spent the past 30 years in France, where he has raised a family and continued his career unhindered. That is, until Saturday. Swiss police seized Polanski on an international warrant issued by U.S. authorities in 2005 and, under bilateral treaties, will now extradite him to the U.S. unless barred from doing so by Swiss courts. (Read "Redeeming Roman Polanski.")

France never complied with the arrest warrant because its laws prohibit the extradition of its citizens to other countries. At the same time, many people in France have over the years downplayed the gravity of Polanski's crime because of his immense talent and artistry as a director. The 76-year-old, who was born in France, has increasingly been seen as the victim of an obsessive U.S. justice system that is ready to pluck him up and drag him off to prison at any moment. Those feelings were reinforced by the 2008 documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, in which filmmaker Marina Zenovich argues that the judge and prosecutor in the case may have engaged in legal misconduct in obtaining Polanski's guilty plea. The film also contains an appeal by Geimer, the victim, for Polanski to be pardoned - leaving his European supporters perplexed as to why U.S. officials wouldn't finally close the book on him. (Read "More Sex, Please, We're French.")

"The French view Polanski as an artist and celebrity and feel he deserves a different kind of treatment than ordinary people, which just isn't an option in the U.S.," says Ted Stanger, an author and longtime resident of France who has written extensively on the differing public views and attitudes across the Atlantic. "The French in particular, and Europeans in general, don't understand why it isn't possible for American officials to intervene and say, 'Hey, it's been over 30 years and things look a little different now. Let's just forget this thing.' "

Indeed, police in other European countries have turned a blind eye to Polanski's travel across the continent for work and pleasure over the years. The director has even made frequent visits to Switzerland in the past without any problem. His supporters claim that Swiss authorities finally caved in to U.S. pressure to nab the director. But Swiss and U.S. justice officials say they knew where he would be thanks to press releases by the Zurich Film Festival touting his presence to accept the award. "There was a valid arrest request, and we knew when he was coming. That's why he was taken into custody," says Guido Balmer, spokesman for Switzerland's Justice Ministry. Adds Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office: "It wasn't a big secret that he was going to be in Zurich - they had announced it on the Internet."

As Polanski's fans across Europe decry his detention, his lawyers say they're filing appeals of both his arrest and eventual transfer to the U.S. "To the French mind, this has made Polanski a combination of Oscar Wilde and Alfred Dreyfus - the victim of systematic persecution," Stanger says. "To the American mind, he's proof that no one is above the law." That's a perception gap as wide as the Atlantic.

[citizen k]

"To see him thrown to the lions and put in prison because of ancient history - and as he was traveling to an event honoring him - is absolutely horrifying,"

Isn't Nazi hunting because of ancient history?

[CountDeMoney]

"The French view Polanski as an artist and celebrity and feel he deserves a different kind of treatment than ordinary people,

Pretty funny from the country that coined "Libertie, Fraternitie, Egalitie".

Lolita fuckery > Bourbons

[grumbler]

I'm confused at what on Earth Grumbler is muttering about

I wasn't muttering, I was spluttering... with laughter.   

I mean, it is a logical argument to say that "an age of 18 consent law is unrealistic."  It is pure emotional hyperbole to say that "I have absolutely no respect for a 18 age of consent."  I merely noted that you forwent the former in favor of the latter, and noted that it amuses me when you do this.