Switzerland

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Swiss to Vote on Minaret Ban

Referendum this month sparks fear of Muslim backlash

(Newser) - Swiss government and business leaders are having a panic attack over a referendum that would ban minarets on mosques—and, they fear, make the country a target for Islamic terrorism. The handiwork of the anti-immigrant Swiss People's Party, infamous for an earlier campaign poster showing a white sheep kicking a...

Swiss Crack Down on 'Suicide Tourism'

Assisted suicides to be restricted to the terminally ill

(Newser) - Swiss authorities are trying to cut back on the numbers of people swarming its borders with the intention of dying. The government plans to cut back or even ban assisted suicide amid concerns that too many people—some of them not suffering terminal illnesses—are traveling to Switzerland for assisted...

Polanski Victim Wants Case Dropped

Samantha Geimer asks court, media to leave her alone

(Newser) - The woman who was raped by Roman Polanski when she was 13 wants the charge against the fugitive director dropped. Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor but fled before sentencing. He's in custody in Switzerland and Samantha Geimer, who lives in Hawaii, is under...

US Moves to Extradite Polanski

Embassy in Switzerland formally requests director's return

(Newser) - The American embassy in Switzerland formally requested the extradition of Roman Polanski last night, paving the way for the convicted director to face an American court for the first time since 1977. A tribunal in Zurich will now hold a hearing, although Polanski may appeal to the country's high court...

Polanski May Take His Chances in US

'Not in perfect health,' director will likely not appeal Swiss house arrest decision

(Newser) - Roman Polanski, denied bail or house arrest in Switzerland, may try his luck in the United States after 31 years. “If this process drags on, it is not completely impossible that Roman Polanski could choose to go finally to explain himself in the United States where the arguments in...

Swiss Tipped US to Polanski Trip

Move gave LA prosecutors time to whip up arrest warrant

(Newser) - Swiss authorities set in motion the arrest of fugitive director Roman Polanski in his decades-old child sex case as he traveled to the country last month, emails obtained by the AP show. The Swiss Federal Office of Justice alerted US law enforcement Sept. 22 that Polanski, 76, was due in...

Polanski Loses Bid for Bail

Court rules director must remain behind bars

(Newser) - Roman Polanski will remain in a Swiss jail while authorities decide whether to extradite him to the US in his 31-year-old statutory rape case, a Swiss court ruled today. The court ruled against releasing the director on bail or under house arrest because he posed a high flight risk. Polanski,...

Polanski Finishing Film Behind Bars
Polanski Finishing Film Behind Bars
Oct 14, 2009 3:19 AM CDT

Polanski Finishing Film Behind Bars

Filmmaker puts final touches on The Ghost as he fights extradition

(Newser) - Director Roman Polanski is finishing up what could be his last film from his Swiss prison cell, according to a friend. The filmmaker finished editing The Ghost, which stars Pierce Brosnan as a British prime minister accused of war crimes, the day he was arrested. Polanski, who faces extradition to...

Neutral Swiss Becoming US Lapdogs, Critics Charge

'Active neutrality' policy questioned after Polanski, UBS decisions

(Newser) - Some Swiss politicians are griping that the country's prized neutrality appears to be sliding as the government adopts a more accommodating stance toward US authorities. The government agreed in August to turn over the names of thousands of suspected American tax dodgers banking with UBS, and Roman Polanski was busted...

Imprisoned Polanski 'Depressed': Lawyer

Fugitive director vows not to flee if he makes bail

(Newser) - A stint in a Zurich prison has left Roman Polanski "depressed" and "dejected," and the longtime fugitive will promise to stay in Switzerland should he be granted bail, his lawyer says. Polanski, who fled the US in 1977 after pleading guilty to raping a 13-year-old girl, "...

Swiss Shoot Down Polanski's Freedom Bid

Says director would likely flee

(Newser) - The Swiss Justice Ministry has rejected an appeal from Roman Polanski to be released from prison pending his possible extradition to the United States. The government believes there is a high risk that Polanski might flee if released from custody, a military spokesman tells the AP. The appeal is separate...

Polanski Made Deal to Pay Rape Victim $500K

Court papers unclear on whether Samantha Geimer received money

(Newser) - Roman Polanski struck a deal to settle a civil lawsuit and pay his rape victim $500,000 after going on the lam, but it's not clear whether she received the entire sum. Court papers relating to the 1988 suit, which was settled in 1993, indicate that the fugitive director missed...

Swiss System Thrives Without Public Option

Highly regulated but market-based system wins plaudits

(Newser) - Given the fractious debate over the public option, some prognosticators are looking to the one-of-a-kind Swiss health care system for answers. The system doesn’t have any such government-run plan, though it guarantees coverage for all. Meanwhile, the Swiss spend far less on health care than the US and are...

It Wasn't Rape: Sharon Tate's Sis
 It Wasn't Rape: 
 Sharon Tate's Sis 
POLANSKI ROUNDUP
Sep 30, 2009 9:56 AM CDT

It Wasn't Rape: Sharon Tate's Sis

As Roman Polanski faces months in jail, Hollywood elite rally around him

(Newser) - The sister of Roman Polanski’s murdered second wife, Sharon Tate, says his crime was not rape. "There's rape and then there's rape,” Debra Tate tells MSNBC, and what happened between Polanski and his 13-year-old victim was “a consensual matter.” More from the Polanski saga:
  • Fake
...

Iran Allows Swiss Envoys Visit With Detained Hikers

Policy reversal may be gesture of goodwill ahead of nuclear talks

(Newser) - Iran has changed its policy on three detained US hikers, allowing Swiss diplomats—who represent American interests in Iran—to visit them. Officials have been denied access to the three Americans since they were detained in July after crossing the border from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iran. Tehran’s reversal may...

Polanski Taunt Brought DA Down on Him

Director's lawyers said prosecutors weren't trying to catch him

(Newser) - Roman Polanski may have his own lawyers to thank for his current predicament. This summer, in an attempt to get the charges against the director dropped, they told an appellate court that prosecutors weren’t actually trying to catch him, because they were afraid to face old misconduct allegations. That...

Roman Polanski Will Fight Extradition: Lawyer

French, Polish ministers ask Clinton for leniency

(Newser) - Roman Polanski is “shocked and dumbfounded” by the Swiss government’s decision to arrest him but is “in fighting mood” and won't be extradited easily, his lawyer said today. Diplomatic wrangling continued over Polanski’s fate, as the French and Polish foreign ministers said they had written to...

Treating Addicts With Heroin Gains Steam

British study finds benefits in giving addicts their fix

(Newser) - Giving heroin to heroin addicts may not sound like a great idea, but it could soon become the preferred treatment for hardcore addicts. Switzerland and a handful of other countries already have clinics that administer small, supervised doses to addicts, and Britain could be next after completing a four-year trial...

Polanski Victim: 'I'm Over It'
 Polanski Victim: 'I'm Over It' 
Sep 28, 2009 5:15 AM CDT

Polanski Victim: 'I'm Over It'

Mom of three is sick and tired of sordid case

(Newser) - The woman Roman Polanski had sex with when she was 13 never wants to hear about the case again. "I have survived, indeed prevailed, against whatever harm Mr. Polanski may have caused me as a child," Samantha Geimer, 45, said early this year after filing court papers to...

French, Swiss Battle Over Polanski

Director's lawyer vows to fight extradition

(Newser) - The French and Swiss government bickered angrily over Roman Polanski yesterday as the film director's arrest strained diplomatic relations. France's culture minister said he was “stupefied” by the arrest, while President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a “rapid solution”—presumably one that involved letting Polanski return to France....

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