Roman Polanski to Voluntarily Attend U.S. Requested Extradition Hearing

Michael Probst/AP
Michael Probst/AP

Former Hollywood director Roman Polanski will attend a court hearing next week in Poland where a request for his extradition to the United States will be examined.

Polanski, who has been avoiding such proceedings for nearly four decades, has voluntarily agreed to attend the meeting in Krakow. “In line with the declaration that was made before, Mr. Roman Polanski will appear in the court,” said Jan Olszewski, one of Polanski’s attorneys.

The Feb. 25 hearing stems from a 1977 case in which the director was convicted for having unlawful sex with an underage girl in Los Angeles, Calif. Polanski pleaded guilty to having sex with 13-year-old Samantha Geimer in 1977 but fled  the country before he could be sentenced in 1978.

If a Polish court rules in favor of a U.S. request, the justice minister will make a decision on whether to approve it, according to Variety.

The director spoke with Vanity Fair in September of 2013, wherein he explained why he fled the country after spending 42 days behind bars as part of a plea bargain:

It was such a shock to learn that it’s not finished, after they let you out of prison. Free! With your bundle under your arm, with the lawyer waiting for you outside; standing there, in your mind it’s all over, it’s finished, and then the judge changed his mind. And I have to go back to prison, and nobody knows how long. I just could not go through that.

Polanski will be in Poland, where he is scheduled to begin work on an upcoming film project.

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