Roman Polanski Defamation Trial in France Kicks Off

Roman Polanski will face trial in France on Tuesday over allegations that he defamed the British actress Charlotte Lewis after she accused him of having sexually assaulted her in the 1980s.

Polanski, who is still a fugitive from U.S. justice over a rape case involving a 13-year-old in 1977, faces multiple accusations relating to other alleged sexual assaults dating back decades, all of which he has denied.

In 2010, Lewis accused Polanski of having sexually assaulted her “in the worst possible way” in 1983 when she was 16 and in Paris for a casting. Lewis appeared in Polanski’s 1986 film Pirates. She said she had decided to speak out to counter suggestions from Polanski’s legal team that the 1977 case was an isolated incident.

Four other women have since come forward with claims Polanski abused them in the 1970s, three of them as minors. The 90-year-old director has denied all of the allegations.

Asked about Lewis’ allegations in a 2019 interview with Paris Match magazine, Polanski called them a “heinous lie” and backed up his statement with quotes from a 1999 article in the British tabloid The News of the World, in which Lewis was quoted as saying in regard to Polanski: “I was fascinated by him, and I wanted to be his lover.”

Lewis has said the quotes attributed to her were not accurate, and filed a complaint for defamation, causing Polanski to be charged automatically under French law.

Speaking to AFP, Lewis’ lawyer Benjamin Chouai said that “discrediting and defaming [people] is an integral part of the Polanski system, and this is what Charlotte Lewis is very bravely calling out.”

Polanski’s lawyer, Delphine Meillet, claims the Paris Match article does not constitute defamation, arguing that Polanski “has the right to defend himself publicly, as does the woman who accuses him.”

Polanski is not due to appear in person at the trial.

The French-Polish filmmaker, director of such films as Chinatown, Rosemary’s Baby and The Pianist, has remained active and productive despite being a fugitive from U.S. justice for more than 40 years. France does not extradite its own citizens, and both Switzerland and Poland have refused U.S. calls to send the director back for trial.

Within France, Polanski has come under increasing pressure in recent years. He was set to preside over the César Awards, France’s equivalent of the Oscars, but was dropped in early 2017 under pressure from feminist groups. While Polanski has continued to make films, he has kept a low profile in recent years. His latest feature, The Palace, screened out of competition in Venice last year but without Polanski present.