Poland Plans to Extradite Roman Polanski to US; Was Convicted of Raping a Girl,13, Then Fled US

Poland said it will initiate efforts to extradite filmmaker Roman Polanski to the United States in an attempt to reverse a court ruling last year that said doing so would be "obviously unlawful," the JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) website reports today (June 1, 2016).

Polanski -- who is Jewish -- fled the U.S. nearly four decades ago after being convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl. He has avoided returning to the U.S. for fear of being imprisoned.

Justice Minister and chief prosecutor Zbigniew Ziobro said the October ruling in a Krakow court blocking Polanski's extradition violated Poland's extradition agreements with the U.S., and that he will appeal it to Poland's Supreme Court.

Ziobro said he disagreed with the Krakow judge's claim that Polanski had, in effect, already been punished. He also criticized as "incomprehensible" the Krakow judge's comments that Polanski would face "inhumane treatment" in the United States.