Roman Polanski's Lawyers Ask Polish Court Not to Extradite Him, Arguing Justice Has Been Served 

Roman Polanski is once again fighting extradition to the United States, where he pleaded guilty in 1977 to drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. Polanski fled the United States after serving 42 days in jail, which his lawyers now argue should count as having done his time.

Polanski, who was born in Poland, holds joint French and Polish citizenship. He’s seeking to make a movie in his home country about Captain Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish French artillery officer falsely accused of espionage. However, he’d like assurances that Poland won’t arrest or extradite him to the U.S. while he’s there to face charges for the rape of Samantha Gailey (now Samantha Geimer). The U.S. officially requested that Poland hand over the director in January of this year. (Polanski lives in Paris; even if the request was granted, he wouldn’t actually have to return to the U.S.)

The Hollywood Reporter says that according to Polish radio reports, Polanski’s lawyers stressed that 42 days he spent in jail, and the fact that he pled guilty. Polanski fled the United States after a plea deal he’d made with the judge was leaked to the press and he feared it wouldn’t be honored. But his lawyers, the Reporter says, argued that his jail stint meant “that justice had long been served.”