Roman Polanski will not be extradited to the United States after Poland’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the country to have the director returned to U.S. custody, where he is still wanted for a decades-old rape conviction.
In May, Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro sought to appeal a lower Polish court’s ruling that had tossed a U.S. extradition request for Polanski, who was convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl after a photo shoot in Los Angeles in 1977.
Tuesday’s ruling by the country’s highest court effectively ends the years-long legal battle to have the director extradited, and means Polanski can live and work in Poland, where he reportedly keeps an apartment, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Polanski lives mainly in France, which does not have extradition with the United States, though he holds dual citizenship in both France and Poland.
In a statement from the justice minister’s office, Ziobro said he accepted the Supreme Court’s ruling but still believes the filmmaker should face justice in the United States.
According to the New York Times, Polanski had initially wanted to make his next film, The Dreyfus Affair, in Poland, but in June announced that the production would be moved to France. The film’s producer reportedly said the decision to move the production was due to French film tax incentives.
Polanski was arrested in March 1977 at the home of actor Jack Nicholson and later pled guilty to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. The director fled the United States on a flight to London in February 1978, just hours before he was set to be sentenced.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum
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