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Polanski sues for his privacy, even under arrest
Underage sex case is no reason for paparazzi to ‘stalk’ his wife and children, says lawyer
The fugitive film director Roman Polanski may be under house arrest in Gstaad, and he may yet have to face sentencing in California for having unlawful sex with an underage girl more than 30 years ago. But he still believes he is entitled to his privacy - and he still fears the media "like the plague".
As a result, he and his wife, the actress Emmanuelle Seigner, are making use of strict French privacy laws to sue four Parisian publications for a total of €150,000 after they published photographs which, the couple claim, invaded their privacy.
One photo shows Polanski standing at the window of the Gstaad ski chalet where he has been living under house arrest since December 4 after paying $4.5m bail in cash to the Swiss authorities. Other photos depict his children Elvis and Morgane who, as minors, are especially protected by the French privacy rules.
The filmmaker's lawyer, Marion Gregoire, told a Paris court yesterday that Polanski and Seigner wanted "to put an urgent stop to the media spotlight" directed on them since Polanski's arrest last September at Zurich airport brought to the surface a case that was almost forgotten in Paris, where Polanski had lived ever since he fled California in 1978.
Gregoire said the American legal case against Polanski "in no way justifies the paparazzi's stalking of his wife and children" and claimed Polanski fears the media like the plague. She is seeking €10,000 damages from Le Journal du Dimanche for the image of the filmmaker at his chalet window.
The newspaper's lawyer, Christophe Bigot, ridiculed the claim. Holding up a shot of photographers lined up outside the Gstaad chalet, he asked: "Can you seriously claim in this context that if you stand at the window you won't get your picture taken?"
Polanski's lawyers also wants €10,000 damages from Voici magazine for a shot of Seigner walking in the street, and €55,000 from VSD magazine for photographs of Elvis and Morgane taken at the airport. VSD argues that measures were taken to blur the children's faces before publication so they could not be recognised.
The court is expected to rule on the issue next Tuesday. ·
