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Yet another black mark for America's Citizen Of The World - Switzerland has refused to honor the extradition of admitted child rapist Roman Polanski:
The Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement that the decision reflected doubts over the legal strength of the U.S. extradition request, in particular concerning negotiations between Los Angeles prosecutors and Polanski's U.S. attorneys at the time.
What bull patties! That doesn't even begin to pass the smell test. Years ago, Polanski gave a 13 year old girl drugs, than analy raped her. He admitted to it, then fled the country before sentencing. There is no question here of "legal strength" of the conviction, nor does Switzerland have any legitimate reason to delve into the sentencing. Either the Obama DOJ just completely screwed this up or the Swiss High Court is utterly corrupt.
Only if you have not recently eaten should you read on:
The decision constituted a victory not only for Polanski but also for a broad array of European intellectual and political figures who had come to his defense with petitions and statements of outrage denouncing the effort to continue prosecution after so many years.
Polanski's backers, ranging from fellow directors to French culture and foreign ministers, criticized U.S. and Los Angeles judicial authorities for seeking what they called crude revenge against a major artist who deserved more respect. Some suggested Switzerland had heeded the extradition request only to relieve U.S. pressure against Swiss bank secrecy laws.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called the U.S. extradition request "a little sinister," coming so long after the fact. His colleague, Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand, said Polanski was being "thrown to the lions for an old story that doesn't really make any sense."
Mitterrand issued a statement Monday expressing satisfaction with the Swiss decision. Another vocal backer, the French writer Bernard-Henri Levy, told reporters in Paris that he was "crazy with joy."
How morally bankrupt must these people be to celebrate the fact that a child rapist has once again escaped punishment for his acts.
