Salon.com > Bradley S. Klapper

Polanski free, Swiss reject US extradition request

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:27:00 +0000

The Swiss government declared renowned film director Roman Polanski a free man on Monday after rejecting a U.S. request to extradite him on a charge of having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

The Swiss mostly blamed U.S. authorities for failing to provide confidential testimony about Polanski's sentencing procedure in 1977-1978.

The Justice Ministry also said that national interests were taken into consideration in the decision.

"The 76-year-old French-Polish film director Roman Polanski will not be extradited to the USA," the ministry said in a statement. "The freedom-restricting measures against him have been revoked."

It was unclear if Polanski had already left his Swiss chalet in the resort of Gstaad, where he has been held under house arrest since December.

Aid groups enlist Google to help in Haiti effort

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:38:00 +0000

Aid workers, with the help of Google Earth, are uploading key information onto the Web to illustrate the needs of hundreds of thousands of people left homeless by Haiti's earthquake -- an innovation that could significantly boost the ability to respond to future disasters.

The idea is new and relatively simple: U.N. and non-governmental aid officials can log onto Google Earth from makeshift settlements housing more than 600,000 people in Haiti and provide real-time details about the population and its global positioning.

Although there have been some teething problems, officials believe the tool could greatly speed relief efforts.

"The humanitarian agencies have some catching up to do when it comes to things like Skype and hand-held e-mail," said Alex Wynter, a Red Cross spokesman in Haiti. "But in the base camps, we're connected and disaster relief is going online."

Users with Google Earth on their computer can go to the Web site, http://www.cccmhaiti.info, where a link offers a map of many of the 414 tent sites, churches, government buildings, schools and refugee camps that have sprung up since the Jan. 12 tremor that killed over 200,000 people.

Red Cross: Up to 3 million need aid

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:11:00 +0000

Haiti's devastating earthquake has left an estimated 3 million people in need of emergency aid, a Red Cross official said Wednesday, as aid groups and governments scrambled to send tons of disaster relief to the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Humanitarian officials said the proximity of the quake's epicenter, only 10 miles (15 kilometers) from the capital Port-au-Prince, and Haiti's crumbling infrastructure meant it was impossible to gauge exactly how many people might be dead or wounded.

"There's probably 3 million people potentially affected," said Paul Conneally, spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.

The first airlifts to Haiti concentrated on search and rescue efforts and setting up makeshift hospitals.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the United States was offering full assistance -- civilian and military. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain would provide "whatever humanitarian assistance is required," while France, Canada, China, Germany, Mexico and Venezuela pledged immediate support in terms of personnel, cash and supplies.

Germany said it would donate euro1 million ($1.45 million), while China pledged $1 million.

Lawyer: Polanski to ask for freedom

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:01:00 +0000

Director Roman Polanski will file a motion Tuesday in a Swiss court asking to be released from custody for possible extradition to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl, his lawyer said.

Attorney Herve Temime told The Associated Press that Polanski's legal representatives had hoped to hand in all necessary documents to Swiss authorities on Monday. They were unable to do so but Temime said they are now ready.

"It will happen today, perhaps this morning," Temime told The AP by telephone.

Polanski, director of such classic films as "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby," was arrested Saturday as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award from a film festival.

Authorities in Los Angeles consider Polanski a convicted felon and fugitive. The director had pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse in 1977 with the underage girl. He was sent to prison for 42 days, but the judge tried to renege on the plea bargain.

On the day of his sentencing in 1978, aware the judge would sentence him to more prison time, Polanski fled to France.

Annan: U.N. needs new human rights body

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 12:31:00 +0000

GENEVA (AP) -- The United Nations needs a new, permanent human rights body if it is to prevent appalling suffering around the world, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday.

Speaking at the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Annan said that the world body is failing to protect against human rights abuses, particularly in Sudan's conflict-ravaged Darfur region, and should be replaced by a council with greater authority.

"We have reached a point at which the commission's declining credibility has cast a shadow on the reputation of the United Nations system as a whole and where piecemeal reforms will not be enough," Annan told delegates.

"The commission's ability to perform its tasks has been overtaken by new needs and undermined by the politicization of its sessions and the selectivity of its work," Annan said.

As part of a package of reforms unveiled last month, the secretary-general proposed a human rights council to replace the present commission. The new council would be a permanent body, possibly on a par with the Security Council.

As a standing organ of the United Nations, the body would meet when necessary, addressing human rights violations as they arise. At present, the commission can only address issues during its annual six-week session.