World

No extradition of Polanski

09:14 am on 13 July 2010

Switzerland has decided not to extradite the film director Roman Polanski to the United States to face sentencing in a child sex case.

Polanski, 76, has been under house arrest in his Swiss chalet since December last year pending the decision.

He is wanted in the United States over a conviction for unlawful sex with a girl, aged 13, in 1977.

The Swiss government declared Polanski a free man on Monday after rejecting an extradition request.

Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said the measures of restriction on his liberty have been lifted.

A Swiss official said the US cannot appeal the decision.

Polanski still faces arrest over his conviction for unlawful sex with an underage girl in 1977 should he ever return to the United States.

The director, who was originally charged with six offences including rape and sodomy, pleaded guilty to unlawful sex following a plea bargain.

But he left the US in 1978, before he could be sentenced, and has never returned.

He was taken into custody in Switzerland in September last year.

Listen to more