Swiss police detained Polanski when he arrived at Zurich airport on Sept 26 to attend a film festival where he was to receive a special award. -- PHOTO: APGENEVA - ROMAN Polanski will not be released on bail before Monday, a Swiss justice ministry spokesman told AFP on Friday, noting that authorities have not received the required bond of 4.5 million francs (S$6.17 million).
'He will not be transferred to Gstaad today or during the weekend,' said Mr Folco Galli, referring to the ski resort where Polanski is to be placed under house arrest in his chalet while awaiting a ruling on whether he should be extradited to the United States.
Switzerland's top criminal court on Wednesday announced that it would grant bail to the Franco-Polish Oscar-winning director.
It said that the 4.5 million Swiss francs in bail offered by Polanski together with such supporting measures as deposit of identity papers and house arrest under electronic monitoring were 'sufficient to avert the risk of flight'. The Swiss justice ministry said a day later that it would not challenge the court's decision, and that it was preparing to release the film-maker.
However, it stressed that all the bail conditions have to be met before Polanski could be transferred from jail to his chalet in Gstaad and if Polanski were to 'violate the terms of his release, bail will be forfeited to the Swiss Confederation'. The United States has been hunting Polanski for three decades since he fled the country in 1978 after admitting to having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Acting on a US warrant, Swiss police detained Polanski when he arrived at Zurich airport on Sept 26 to attend a film festival where he was to receive a special award. The United States has formally asked Switzerland to extradite Polanski but Swiss authorities said on Thursday the request is still being examined. -- AFP
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