European Journal | Poland: the Polanski controversy

Film director Roman Polanski faces trial in the US for statutory rape committed 32 years ago. The case has polarized people in his native country of Poland. Initially the media there blasted the Americans for wanting to make an example of Polanski,a famous Pole,an Oscar winner.Politicians like foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski have called for the director to be freed. But some conservative elements in Poland have been using the case to warm up some old anti-Semitic prejudices.