Justice Ministry deputy director says courts in California must first make a final ruling on whether the director can be sentenced in absentia.
Polanski’s legal battle to avoid returning to the U.S. on statutory rape charges involving a then 13-year old child got a boost when a Swiss official said extradition proceedings stemming from his three-decade-old child sex case were on indefinite hold.
Polanski, 76, remained under house arrest, his round-the-clock presence in his Gstaad ski chalet secured by an ankle bracelet and $4.5-million bond.
The ministry's deputy director said Swiss authorities would not make any decision on Polanski's case until courts in California made a definitive ruling on whether the director could be sentenced without returning to the U.S. The issue is not pending before any California court, but Polanski's lawyers have said they will appeal a lower court judge's refusal last month to sentence him in absentia.