El director de cinema Roman Polanski va ser detingut a l'aeroport de Zurich en compliment estricte dels acords jurídics que vinculen Suïssa amb els Estats Units. En tot cas, la qüestió és perquè l'han detingut ara i no abans, ja que Polanski viatjava sovint a Suïssa, on hi té un xalet.La violació d'una menor, un delicte que pesa sobre Roman Polanski des de fa 32 anys, no ha prescrit ni a Suïssa ni als Estats Units. I com que no se li demana pena de mort, res s'oposa a la seva extradició.
Als ulls de la justícia nord-americana, Polanski és culpable sobre tot d'un delicte de felonia, un abús de confiança respecte una justícia que va creure en la seva paraula. Polanski va fugir a l'estranger mentre s'emetia una ordre de presó després d'una transacció judicial en les que va admetre els fets, a canvi d'un delicte menys greu
Samantha Galley tenia 13 anys quan es va topar amb Roman Polanski. Com moltes nenes, Samantha volia ser model i Polanski se li va oferir per fer-li fotos per a la revista francesa Vogue a la casa d'una altra celebritat cinematogràfica, l'actor Jack Nicholson. Quan eren sols, Polanski la va drogar amb Quaalude barrejada amb xampany. Aquest és el testimoni sense rancúnia de Samantha Galley, publicat el 23 de febrer del 2003 a "Los Angeles Times" amb motiu de si se li podia donar un Oscar o no al cineasta polonès per la seva pel·lícula "El pianista".
I met Roman Polanski in 1977, when I was 13 years old. I was in ninth grade that year, when he told my mother that he wanted to shoot pictures of me for a French magazine. That's what he said, but instead, after shooting pictures of me at Jack Nicholson's house on Mulholland Drive, he did something quite different. He gave me champagne and a piece of a Quaalude. And then he took advantage of me.
It was not consensual sex by any means. I said no, repeatedly, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. I was alone and I didn't know what to do. It was scary and, looking back, very creepy. Those may sound like kindergarten words, but that's the way it feels to me. It was a very long time ago, and it is hard to remember exactly the way everything happened. But I've had to repeat the story so many times, I know it by heart.
We pressed charges, and he pleaded guilty. A plea bargain was agreed to by his lawyer, my lawyer and the district attorney, and it was approved by the judge. But to our amazement, at the last minute the judge went back on his word and refused to honor the deal.
Worried that he was going to have to spend 50 years in prison -- rather than just time already served -- Mr. Polanski fled the country. He's never been back, and I haven't seen him or spoken to him since.
Looking back, there can be no question that he did something awful. It was a terrible thing to do to a young girl. But it was also 25 years ago -- 26 years next month. And, honestly, the publicity surrounding it was so traumatic that what he did to me seemed to pale in comparison.
Now that he's been nominated for an Academy Award, it's all being reopened. I'm being asked: Should he be given the award? Should he be rewarded for his behavior? Should he be allowed back into the United States after fleeing 25 years ago?
Here's the way I feel about it: I don't really have any hard feelings toward him, or any sympathy, either. He is a stranger to me.
Pedro Almodóvar, Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch o Costa Gavras han firmat un manifest d'artistes de suport a Polanski. Els mateixos que també firmen, des de la seva condició pública d'antimasclistes i requetefeministes, tota mena de manifestos contra la violència de gènere. Això sí, sempre i quan l'acusat no sigui de la seva tribu. Perquè -i a veure si ho enteneu d'una vegada- el que va fer Polanski no va ser una violació sinó una obra d'art.
