Filmmaker Roman Polanski appears in court in extradition hearing

The Oscar-winning director is in Poland preparing to make a movie.

Filmmaker Roman Polanski, center, with his lawyers, arrives at the regional court in his childhood city of Krakow, Poland. Photo: AP

Filmmaker Roman Polanski appeared in court in southern Poland on Wednesday for a hearing concerning a U.S. request for his extradition over 1977 charges of sex with a minor.

The Oscar-winning director, wearing a dark suit, entered the court in Krakow with his two Polish lawyers, Jan Olszewski and Jerzy Stachowicz. On the attorneys’ request, the court banned media from the hearing.

The judge was not expected to make a ruling on Wednesday and scheduled another hearing for April, buying time to weigh the matter.

Mr. Polanski, 81, is in Poland preparing to make a movie.

Prosecutors in Mr. Polanski’s childhood city of Krakow, where he has an apartment, have refused a U.S. request to arrest him, but have said there are no legal obstacles to his extradition and have asked the court for a ruling.

If the judge refuses to hand Mr. Polanski over, the case is closed. If he allows the extradition, the final decision will belong to the justice minister.