Roman Polanski’s legal team fired the first shot on Tuesday in a lengthy battle over his possible extradition to the US, asking a Swiss court to release the renowned filmmaker from prison immediately.
The Swiss Federal Criminal Court announced the filing and said a decision would be made “within the next weeks,” but experts said a swift release was unlikely and it appeared that the 76-year-old director could remain in jail for at least a few months.
Even if the court rules in Polanski’s favor, the decision would probably be appealed immediately by the Swiss government, extending his incarceration in a Zurich cell.
Meanwhile in Poland, the prime minister urged restraint after two days of heated calls from government officials for Polanski’s release. French leaders who had also been outspoken in support of the filmmaker said their consul had visited him in detention.
Authorities in Los Angeles consider Polanski a convicted felon and a fugitive, and Switzerland says there has been an international arrest warrant out on him since 2005.
Polanski was accused of plying a 13-year-old girl with champagne and Quaaludes during a modeling shoot in 1977 and raping her.
Experts predicted that Polanski had little hope of winning his freedom in Switzerland. On top of the court proceedings his team initiated on Tuesday, Polanski will also have to face a formal US extradition request that has not yet been received by the Swiss.
Brazil, the world’s largest Roman Catholic country, saw its Catholic population decline further in 2022, while evangelical Christians and those with no religion continued to rise, census data released on Friday by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) showed. The census indicated that Brazil had 100.2 million Roman Catholics in 2022, accounting for 56.7 percent of the population, down from 65.1 percent or 105.4 million recorded in the 2010 census. Meanwhile, the share of evangelical Christians rose to 26.9 percent last year, up from 21.6 percent in 2010, adding 12 million followers to reach 47.4 million — the highest figure
A Chinese scientist was arrested while arriving in the US at Detroit airport, the second case in days involving the alleged smuggling of biological material, authorities said on Monday. The scientist is accused of shipping biological material months ago to staff at a laboratory at the University of Michigan. The FBI, in a court filing, described it as material related to certain worms and requires a government permit. “The guidelines for importing biological materials into the US for research purposes are stringent, but clear, and actions like this undermine the legitimate work of other visiting scholars,” said John Nowak, who leads field
‘THE RED LINE’: Colombian President Gustavo Petro promised a thorough probe into the attack on the senator, who had announced his presidential bid in March Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, a possible candidate in the country’s presidential election next year, was shot and wounded at a campaign rally in Bogota on Saturday, authorities said. His conservative Democratic Center party released a statement calling it “an unacceptable act of violence.” The attack took place in a park in the Fontibon neighborhood when armed assailants shot him from behind, said the right-wing Democratic Center, which was the party of former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe. The men are not related. Images circulating on social media showed Uribe Turbay, 39, covered in blood being held by several people. The Santa Fe Foundation
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