Showbiz

Polanski extradition decision imminent

Published Sunday, Jul 4 2010, 15:56 BST | By Daniel Sperling

Roman Polanski will soon discover whether he will face extradition from Switzerland to face prosecution for a 1977 sex case in the US.

According to The AP, a spokesman for the Swiss Justice Ministry announced that "it won't be long" before a decision is made on Polanski's fate. The 76-year-old first fled the US in 1978, the day he was due to be formally sentenced for pleading guilty to having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Polanski has been under house arrest in his chalet in Gstaad for the last seven months, after paying a $4.5 million (£2.9 million) bail following his September 2009 arrest.

A second woman has since come forward claiming to have been sexually abused by Polanski when she was 16 years old, increasing pressure on the Swiss government to extradite him back to the US.

Polanski recently wrote an open letter appealing against his possible extradition, claiming that he was "justified" in fleeing the US.