Switzerland to decide on Polanski release plea

The Swiss Justice Ministry said today that it will decide this week whether to grant a request from film director Roman Polanski to be released from prison.

Ministry spokesman Folco Galli said the appeal by Polanski’s legal team is separate from a court case it filed last week which also seeks Polanski’s freedom, possibly on bail or under house arrest in Switzerland.

Polanski was detained on September 26 as he arrived in Zurich to receive an award from a film festival.

US authorities asked for the 76-year-old’s arrest and want him extradited for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

Mr Galli said today that Polanski would be freed immediately if he won his appeal to the Swiss Justice Ministry.

But legal experts said his chances of a speedy release are slim.