Roman Polanski Rep Says Justice Has Already Been Served

Sept. 29, 2009 — -- Lawyers for Oscar-winning directorRoman Polanski filed a motion in court today asking that he be released from Swiss custody, according to the Associated Press.

Polanski remains in a Swiss jail as the debate about his Saturday arrest rages on.

Today's motion is likely the first step in the battle to avoid extradition to the United States for the 1977 statutory rape case.

"The entire narrative surrounding this situation over the last 32 years has been wrought with complications and inconsistencies," Jeff Berg, Polanski's Hollywood representative, told "Good Morning America" today.

Polanski's arrest at the Zurich airport came at the request of a U.S. warrant on a 31-year-old statutory rape charge. Berg and Polanski's lawyers have expressed shock that he was taken into custody in a country he is known to frequent, even owning a chalet there.

Berg called the timing of Polanski's arrest, which occurred the same day he was to have received an award at the Zurich Film Festival, "one of many cruel ironies" that Polanski has faced in his life.

Polanski's critics have seemed incredulous that Hollywood heavyweights like producer Harvey Weinstein are pleading for the freedom of a man convicted of intercourse with a 13-year-old girl, but Berg said he and Polanski's lawyers believe justice has already been served.

Polanski took a deal and pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse and served 42 days in a California jail where he was psychologically evaluated. He has admitted he had sex with 13-year-old Samantha Geimer after plying her with champagne and Quaaludes at the home of actor Jack Nicholson.

"Roman was incarcerated. Roman did time in a state prison," Berg said. "My feeling to his critics is you have to look at a much more complex situation surrounding this case."

Now in her 40s, Geimer has said she forgives Polanski and doesn't think he should face further jail time.

Berg said Polanski fled the country in 1978 only after learning during a discussion with the district attorney outside a Los Angeles courtroom that the judge in his case was preparing to sentence him to a long prison term despite the plea deal.

Polanski's rights were violated, Berg said, and the case was "plagued with prosecutorial and judicial misconduct."

And, he pointed out, it's not like Polanski has been hiding out for the last three decades. He's traveled freely around Europe and continued to make movies, including 2002's "The Pianist," for which he won the 2003 Academy Award for best director.

Though he could not travel to the United States to accept the award without risking arrest, he received a standing ovation from many in the audience.

"Roman was in Switzerland all summer," Berg said. "He does not live in the shadows."

Berg said he has spoken to Polanski's wife, actress Emmanuelle Seigner, who told him that "his voice was strong and he's looking to moving forward."