Oscar-winning film director Roman Polanski was still kept in jail of Switzerland Monday, unless he pays off a full bail payment of 4.5 million U.S. dollars demanded by Swiss court, according to foreign media report Tuesday. "The bail must be wired to a bank account, and the bank must then notify us that it has received the bail," Swiss justice ministry spokesman Folco Galli said. "Nothing happens before that." The full bail payment is standard practice in Switzerland, Galli said. That is different from other countries such as the United States, where bail bondsmen often post a percentage of the total payment required by a court. Polanski was arrested on Spet. 26 by Swiss police as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement at a film festival. Authorities in Los Angeles want him returned to be sentenced after 31 years as a fugitive. In addition to bail, the 76-year-old filmmaker must surrender his identity papers and be fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet. He would not be allowed to leave his property, which is located in the luxury resort of Gstaad, as he awaits a decision on whether he will be extradited to the U.S. for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl. An alarm will ring if Polanski leaves the property, but no special police protection will be provided. The director will be able to go outside to check the mail or entertain guests in the garden. He also will be able to make calls, send e-mails and work on his films. Phone conversations will not be monitored. Polanski's wife and two children might join him in Gstaad around Christmas. Polanski claims that the U.S. judge and prosecutors acted improperly in his case. His attorneys will argue before a California appeals court in December that the charges should be dismissed. Sources: Xinhua
