Swiss blame US authorities as Roman Polanski is freed

Roman Polanski is free to return to his home in Paris after hearing he will not be extradited from Switzerland to the United States, where he is wanted over a 1977 conviction for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in September 2009 after US authorities were tipped off that he would be leaving the safety of France – where he is protected from extradition -  to attend the Zurich film festival. He has been under house arrest in his chalet in Gstaad since December, but is now free of restrictions on his movement.

The Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement that they could not rule out the possibility that there was "a fault" in the US request for extradition.

The Press Association reported that the Swiss criticised US authorities for failing to provide confidential testimony regarding Polanski's sentencing procedure between 1977 and 1978.

Polanski, 76, fled from Los Angeles to Paris, via London, in 1978 because he feared a Californian judge would refuse to honour the terms of a plea bargain which saw him agree to undergo psychological evaluation after admitting to having unlawful sexual intercourse with 13-year-old Samantha Geimer.

Herve Temime, Polanski's lawyer, said: "It is a huge relief and enormously satisfying after the suffering Roman Polanski and his family have endured."

The Swiss Justice Minister, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, does not believe the US will appeal Switzerland's decision. ·