Diplomat: Polanski well treated in Swiss jail

Geneva — The French consul general in Zurich said after visiting Roman Polanski in a Swiss prison on Monday that the filmmaker was being well treated following his arrest on a US warrant.

"Mr Roman Polanski is being well treated. He thanks the many people who have shown support through the press and public opinion," the consulate said in a brief statement following the visit by Consul General Jean-Luc Faure-Tournaire.

Also visiting Polanski was Poland’s ambassador to Switzerland, Jaroslaw Starzyk, who also found him to be "in good condition," Jolanta Chojecka, chief of the consular section at the Polish embassy in Bern, told AFP.

Polanski was able to meet Monday with his wife of 20 years, Emmanuelle Seigner, and his French lawyer, on top of "a direct contact with his Swiss lawyer," she said.

He also "very positively received" news about French and Polish efforts to get him released, the diplomat added.

The 76-year-old French-Polish filmmaker was arrested on Saturday in Zurich, where he was due to attend a film festival.

Polanski pleaded guilty before a US court in 1978 of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor as part of a plea bargain. But he fled before sentencing and US authorities have sought his arrest and return to the United States.

Polanski requested that the place where he was detained should not be revealed, Polish Consul General Jolanta Chojecka told AFP.

AFP / Expatica