Filmmaker Roman Polanski’s attorneys helped provoke his arrest by complaining to an appellate court this summer that prosecutors had made no real effort to capture him during his three decades as a fugitive, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The accusation that the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office was not serious about extraditing Polanski to face sentencing in a child sex case he fled in 1978 caught the attention of prosecutors, who had made several attempts to apprehend Polanski over the years.
Swiss officials detained the 76-year-old Saturday as he arrived to accept an award at the Zurich Film Festival. The arrest prompted protests from officials in France, Poland, and elsewhere in Europe, with calls that Swiss authorities allow Polanski to be released on bail. There have been persistent questions about why authorities arrested Polanski now given that he has routinely traveled throughout Europe, including Switzerland, without incident.