Switzerland has declined the United States’ request for extradition of Roman Polanski and the director is once again a free man.  According to Swiss authorities the decision, which was widely expected to go the other way, was based on American officials unwillingness or inability to adequately address the issue of whether or not Polanski had already served his sentence.  Switzerland also took notice of the fact that the United States has not made any attempt to arrest and extradite Polanski in past trips to Switzerland, even though he owns a house there, and that the victim in the case has publicly asked for the prosecution to be dropped.  This decision can not be appealed by the US and will likely mean that Polanski will never return to America to stand trial.

We first reportedon Polanki’s arrest back in September.