This is Roman Polanski’s Swiss chalet, “Milky Way”. This is where Roman is right now, under “house arrest”. Last week, Polanski made a $4.5 million dollar bail, and the Swiss authorities agreed to allow him to stay at the chalet, provided he wear an ankle-monitor. It is in the chalet that Polanski will wait to hear if the United States’ extradition petition will be granted. But Roman, for one, is not prepared to accept extradition – his lawyer claimed several weeks ago that Roman “won’t accept” extradition. So my guess is that if and when extradition happens, “Milky Way” will have to be charged and taken by an international SWAT team, and Polanski will have to drugged and hog-tied. Which is a nice image, right?

Roman Polanski began his house arrest on $4.5 million bail Friday, rolling into the luxury resort of Gstaad in a police convoy to a warm welcome from his wife and children at his Alpine chalet.

Polanski persuaded Swiss authorities to end his two months of incarceration in a Swiss jail pending their decision on whether to extradite him to the U.S. in a 32-year-old sex case.

Polanski’s family had been waiting eagerly at the chalet, peeking out the windows to look for him as Swiss authorities worked out the last-minute details of his transfer. He has two children – Elvis, 9, and Morgane, 16 – with his wife, French actress Emmanuelle Seigner.

Just before 1 p.m., two police cars went straight into the garage, which has direct access to the house, then left twenty minutes later. Polanski was unseen behind the vehicles’ tinted windows, but police told The Associated Press that he was inside.

“Roman Polanski was today released from custody pending extradition and transferred to Gstaad, where he is under house arrest at his chalet,” the Swiss Justice Ministry said. “Polanski has undertaken not to leave his house and property at any time.”

The 76-year-old director won’t be allowed to leave the property while Switzerland decides whether to extradite him to the U.S. for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

Swiss officials say Polanski transferred the bail and deposited all identification and travel documents with the Zurich cantonal police. His house in Gstaad was fitted with an electronic monitoring system that will trigger an alarm if Polanski leaves the house or removes the tagging bracelet.

Polanski was wearing the monitor around his ankle Friday, said Folco Galli, spokesman for the Justice Ministry.

“As soon as he arrived, the electronic device was activated,” he told The Associated Press, adding that Polanski was free to speak to the press if he wished. “But this is for him alone to decide.”

An hour later, the Polanskis sent word to reporters that they had no intention of making a statement.

“Mr. Polanski and his wife just asked us to say they are not coming out,” said a security guard, who declined to give his name. “There is no point in waiting, so you can all leave.”
Police in gray-and-blue jackets and private security guarded his property. Red-and-white striped police security tape and a wooden fence marked out an area around the house that was closed to strangers.

Swiss authorities are still weighing the U.S. extradition request as well as arguments by Polanski’s lawyer not to send him to Los Angeles, Galli said. He said the decision was expected “in the next weeks,” but he could not say if it would happen this year.

In Los Angeles, prosecutors and defense lawyers declined to comment on the release.

“We’re not going to be making any comments about Mr. Polanski outside court while his extradition is pending in the Swiss courts,” said Sandi Gibbons of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office. A spokeswoman for Polanski’s California legal team also said they would have no comment.

[From The Huffington Post]

What’s interesting to me is that Polanski can’t leave the “property”. Not the chalet, mind you, the “property”. This means that Polanski will be able to walk around outside on what are probably extensive grounds. Is anyone placing bets on whether Polanski runs again? Even though Polanski is one of Switzerland’s most high-profile detainees ever, I doubt they have people on the house constantly. I think he could easily slip away.