Roman Polanski was denied bail for the second time by a Swiss court today after pledging his holiday home in Switzerland as collateral and proposing electronic monitoring as a way to ensure he wouldn’t flee.

The court said Polanski was still too much a flight risk. Something Polanski’s French lawyer Herve Temime fervently denies.
“What everyone forgets is that if Roman Polanski fled 32 years ago, it was because he felt betrayed by the American justice system,” Temime told Swiss television. “What one forgets is that 32 years ago, no one in the world wanted him to go to jail, not even for one day. For the past 32 years he has demonstrated to what extent he is not a danger to anyone, to what extent he is not a ‘sex criminal’ as one often hears.”

“So let me get this straight: your argument is that your client spent the last 32 years on the run simply because he had his feelings hurt, and now because of that, you say we should let him out again?  We do not know how it works in France, Mr. Temime, but this court does not award ‘points for sheer balls.’”

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