Polanski detained in Switzerland over underage sex case (AFP)

[Yahoo! News]

Polish-French director Roman Polanski attends the opening ceremony of the 8th edition of the Marrakesh film festival, 2008. Swiss police detained Polanski and could extradite him to the United States for having sex with a 13-year-old girl three decades ago, authorities said. (AFP/File/Abdelhak Senna)

AFP - Swiss police detained Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski and could extradite him to the United States for having sex with a 13-year-old girl three decades ago, authorities said Sunday.

US authorities have been pursuing the director of "Rosemary's Baby", "Chinatown" and "The Pianist" for many years. The Swiss Justice Ministry said it was now waiting for a US extradition request.

Polanski fled the United States in 1978 before sentencing on a charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl. He admitted the charge at the time and has never returned, even missing the Oscar award for "The Pianist" in 2003.

A Swiss justice ministry spokesman said Polanski was being held under a 2005 international alert issued by the US government, related to a 1978 arrest warrant in the underage sex case.

Polanski is being held at Zurich airport, the Swiss ATS news agency said, though no official confirmation could be obtained.

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The Polish and French foreign ministers Radoslaw Sikorski and Bernard Kouchner agreed to make a joint approach to US authorities, Poland's PAP news agency reported, including for a possible pardon from President Barack Obama.

French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand condemned the arrest of the film-maker, who lives in Paris, and said he had discussed the matter with President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Mitterrand told a press briefing that the arrest was "absolutely horrifying" and the case was "an old story which doesn't really make any sense."

A petition signed by film-makers and actors including Costa Gavras, Wong Kar Wai, Monica Bellucci and Fanny Ardant voiced dismay at Polanski's detention.

Polanski's legal team argued that the conviction should be annulled because the judge who heard the 1970s case had improperly colluded with prosecutors. The judge has since died.

Judge Peter Espinoza said this year that while he believed there had been "substantial misconduct," Polanski's attempts to dismiss charges would not be heard as long as he remained a fugitive.

The woman named as the victim in the 1977 case has joined defence lawyers in urging the dismissal of the case.

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Polanski detained in Switzerland over underage sex case - Yahoo! News