On 30 sept. 2009, at 12:58, Bill Bartlett wrote:
> Pretty unlikely a person could get a fair trial in that atmosphere.
> You could hardly blame the accused from fleeing when his liberty is
> ransom to a public circus. No civilised legal system would extradite
> a person to a jurisdiction where such a mockery of a legal system
> prevailed. (Is this the reason he hasn't been extradited? I am only
> guessing.)
According to that: http://www.maitre-eolas.fr/post/2009/09/29/Quelques-mots-sur-l-affaire-Polanski
> Enfin, il existe un principe fondamental : un État n’extrade jamais
> ses ressortissants. C’est contraire à la protection qu’il doit à ses
> citoyens. Ce qui ne veut pas dire qu’ils sont l’abri de poursuites
> dans leur État d’origine.
The only reason is that he cannot be extradited by the country of which he holds citizenship (France in this case). A State has a duty to protect its citizens.
> rapist/child molester. To fight it on the basis that the alleged
> offense is relatively minor seems really stupid and self defeating.
Indeed, it is.
Jean-Christophe Helary