After months of silence, Roman Polanski, still under house arrest in his Alpine Swiss chalet, has released a statement to the media in which he accuses the U.S. of wanting to extradite him in order to “serve [him] on a platter to the media of the word†for a sex crime that occurred 33 years ago.
“I can remain silent no longer because the request for my extradition addressed to the Swiss authorities is founded on a lie,†Polanski wrote in the statement. “â€I have had my share of dramas and joys, as we all have, and I am not going to try to ask you to pity my lot in life. I ask only to be treated fairly like anyone else.â€
The director says he has already honored an agreement made decades ago to limit his punishment to the time he has already served. Polanski pleaded guilty to having unlawful sex with a minor and spent 42 days in a California state prison, but fled the country before his final sentencing.