Yesterday (January 6), filmmaker Roman Polanski made the request through his lawyers, reports the Nouvel Observateur. The judge will review the request on January 22 at a hearing, and if the request is approved, Polanski will not need to appear in court.
Prosecutors have asked that the director be extradited to the United States, and will oppose any sentence if Polanski isn’t physically present in court.
The director is currently under house arrest in his chalet in the Swiss Alps. Attorney David Walgren, a member of the prosecution, argued that Polanski should not be allowed to defend himself from the comfort of his own home, demanding that he return to California.
Roman Polanski fled the US in 1978 after pleading guilty to charges of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old minor. He then settled in France in order to avoid prison. He was arrested in Switzerland last September, and Swiss authorities will soon be deciding if he will be extradited to the US.
Last month, an appeals court in California suggested that Polanski ask for sentencing by absentia to close the case once and for all. However, prosecutors are not accepting this as a resolution.