Swiss court 'grants' Polanski bail

A Swiss court has granted the release of film director Roman Polanski on bail of 4.5 million Swiss francs (€2.9 million), the Swiss SDA news agency reported today.

A spokesman for the Swiss Justice Ministry said Polanski's release would not happen immediately and that the Ministry still had to decide whether to appeal against the filmmaker's release.

The 76-year-old Oscar-winning director, who holds dual French and Polish citizenship, was arrested at the request of the United States when he flew into Switzerland on September 26 to receive a lifetime achievement prize at a film festival.

Polanski pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 but fled the United States on the eve of his 1978 sentencing because he believed a judge might overrule a plea bargain and put him in jail for 50 years.

Reuters