Polanski out of jail for medical reasons
Last Updated: Saturday, October 17, 2009 | 3:15 PM ET
CBC News
Roman Polanski has been moved from his Zurich jail for medical treatment, his French lawyer said Saturday.
The film director was arrested in September after nearly 32 years in self-imposed exile from the United States following his conviction for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.
"All I know is that he has been taken from prison for medical attention. I don't know where he is or when he will be returned to prison," Herve Temime told Reuters.
Roman Polanski, pictured here in Marrakech in 2008, is fighting extradition to the U.S. (Abdeljalil Bounhar/Associated Press) Temime also said he visited the director in jail last week and found him depressed and tired.
The move comes in the wake of public comments by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has criticized the U.S. justice system for arresting Polanski.
"I understand that people are shocked by the gravity of the accusations against Roman Polanski," Sarkozy told newspaper Le Figaro's website on Friday.
"But I add that it is not a good administration of justice to do this 32 years after the facts when the person concerned is today 76 years old."
Working on next film while behind bars
Polanski, a French citizen, was arrested at Zurich's airport on Sept. 26 as he was arriving to collect a lifetime achievement award at a film festival there.
French Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand immediately reacted to the arrest by calling it "absolutely horrifying." Sarkozy said his minister's comments were a mistake.
"Frédéric Mitterrand has recognized that his declaration was an error and that he regretted it. I couldn't say it any better," Sarkozy said.
Polanski, who was in a Zurich jail while fighting extradition to the U.S., is said to be working on his next film, The Ghost, as he awaits the court's decision.
His lawyers presented arguments to Justice Department officials in the U.S. earlier in October, hoping to prevent the filmmaker's return there.
This week, the Swiss legislature upheld the decision to arrest the director, who had previously travelled freely in Europe despite the issuing of an international arrest warrant for him in 2005.
