A spokesman for the Swiss justice ministry said on Tuesday that the government believes there is a high risk that Roman Polanski may flee if released from custody.

"In our view, there is still a very high risk that he will flee and that a release on bail or other measures after a release cannot guarantee Polanski's presence in the extradition procedure," Folco Galli said.

Polanski's lawyers have appealed to Switzerland's highest criminal court for this release.

Filmmaker fled US before sentencing

The 76-year-old, who holds dual Polish and French citizenship, was arrested in Switzerland in September, at the request of the United States. Polanski was in the country to collect a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival.

The US has been seeking his extradition for having sex with a 13-year-old in 1977 in Los Angeles. The filmmaker pleaded guilty to the charge at the time, but he fled the country on the eve of his sentencing in 1978, fearing his plea would be overruled and he might be put behind bars for decades. He has not returned to the US ever since.

Polanski's victim, Samantha Geimer, sued Polanski in December 1988, alleging sexual assault, infliction of emotional distress and seduction.

The filmmaker agreed to pay her $500,000 five years later.

But in January this year Geimer asked a US court to drop charges against Polanski, saying the continued publication of details "causes harm to me, my husband and children."

Arrest polarizes film world, politics

The arrest of Polanski, who won an Oscar in 2002 for "The Pianist" - set in Nazi-occupied Warsaw - has sparked an outcry among some politicians and the Hollywood film industry.

Several leading international directors, including Pedro Almodovar, Stephen Frears, and actors Monica Bellucci and Fanny Ardant have signed a petition, expressing dismay at Polanski's arrest.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his Polish counterpart Radek Sikorski have urged US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a letter to drop the charges.

Polanski's arrest has also stirred emotions in his native Poland with many leading cultural figures uniting behind the filmmaker.

But last week, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk waded into the heated debate, cautioning that the charges against Polanski couldn't be shrugged off.

"This case of course involved a leading Polish director, and dates back many years, but it's also about rape, and sex with a child. We must not mix that with politics, or play the patriotic card," Tusk told reporters.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has the power to pardon Polanski, said the filmmaker should not get special treatment because he is a "big-time movie director."

sp/Reuters/AP/dpa
Editor: Nancy Isenson