Poland restarts procedure to extradite Polanski to US

Poland on Tuesday relaunched a procedure to extradite Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski to the United States to face sentencing for a 1977 case of statutory rape.

Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro told Polish public radio that he would appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn a previous decision that Polanski should not face extradition.

In October, a local court in the southern city of Krakow ruled that Polanski should not be sent to the United States, a decision prosecutors agreed was "justified."

The Krakow court was fiercely critical of the original US investigation into the filmmaker's case, saying the US judges and prosecutors had flouted "the rules of a fair trial".

One of his lawyers at the time said that the decision "ends the legal proceedings" against the 82-year French-Polish director.

However, at the time, Ziobro described the ruling as "surprising" and announced a review into the decision.

Polanski is still wanted by the US for sentencing over the 1977 statutory rape of Samantha Geimer after a photo shoot in Los Angeles.

She was 13 at the time. Polanski was 43.

He pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor, or statutory rape, avoiding a trial, but then fled the country fearing a hefty sentence.

Source: AFP