You'd think the apprehension of a brazen sex offender would be an unqualified cause for rejoicing, but the Swiss government is already being excoriated for nabbing Roman Polanski and holding him for possible extradition to the U.S.
I don't care how many film awards the man has won, nothing excuses the rape of a 13-year-old girl. I don't mean he can't be forgiven, and I don't mean it's not understandable that a man might be driven onto dark paths following the spectacular and much-publicized murder of his wife and son. There are mitigating circumstances that his lawyer could justifiably raise at his trial. But why should he be exempt from justice because he is an artist, and famous? And why should France, a country I love and respect in many ways, and of which Polanski is a citizen, wish to harbor a child molester? That seems much more worthy of Europe's condemnation than the molester's incarceration.Elsewhere in Europe, however, reactions to Polanski's arrest were swift and damning. France's minister of culture, Frederic Mittterrand, says he is "stupefied" and is demanding Polanski's immediate release. The country's highest officials are already talking to Swiss and U.S. officials in hopes of ending the detention, it was reported Sunday.
The Swiss Directors Association is also condemning the act, calling the arrest as "a grotesque farce of justice and an immense cultural scandal." Directors and actors worldwide have begun circulating petitions calling for Polanski's release.
