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Swiss court grants Polanski bail Swiss court grants Polanski bail
(40 minutes later)
A Swiss court has accepted film-maker Roman Polanski's plea to be freed on bail from a Swiss jail where he is being held for a US child sex case. A Swiss court has accepted film-maker Roman Polanski's plea to be freed on $4.5 m bail from a Swiss jail where he is being held for a US child sex case.
Polanski has been wanted in the US since fleeing the country in 1978 after pleading guilty to having unlawful sex a year earlier with a 13-year-old girl. The court said Polanski could stay at his chalet in the Swiss Alps. He would be monitored by an electronic tag.
He was held in Zurich after travelling from France to collect an award at the city's film festival in September. Polanski, 76, has been wanted in the US since fleeing the country in 1978 after pleading guilty to having unlawful sex a year earlier with a 13-year-old girl.
Polanski will stay in jail pending a possible appeal against the ruling. He was held in Zurich after travelling from France in September.
The Swiss justice ministry said it would decide quickly as to whether to challenge the court's decision. 'Unusual' ruling
House arrest On Wednesday, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court accepted Polanski's bail plea and his offer to surrender his passport.
Bail has reportedly been set at 3m euros (£2.7m; $4.5m) for the film director. The court said Polanski would be subjected to "constant electronic surveillance" at his chalet and an electronic tag would be activated if he attempted to leave the premises.
While on bail, Polanski would have to be kept under house arrest and electronic monitoring at his Swiss chalet, according to Associated Press news agency. It also said that Polanski - who holds dual French and Polish citizenship - would stay in the prison pending a possible appeal against the ruling.
The Swiss justice ministry has 10 days to appeal against the court's decision.
It is highly unusual for extradition subjects to be granted bail in Switzerland, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes, adding that Polanski's first application was refused.
But this time the court ruled bail conditions should be enough to prevent him fleeing back to France, our correspondent says.
The ruling is not thought to affect the Swiss government's ongoing assessment of whether it should extradite Polanski to the US.The ruling is not thought to affect the Swiss government's ongoing assessment of whether it should extradite Polanski to the US.