Supporters rally to Polanski - by mail
Fugitive director Roman Polanski has been swamped with letters of support. In his public first statement since his arrest in September, Polanski, who is legally confined to his home in Switzerland, said: "In the darkest moments, each of their notes has been a source of comfort and hope, and they continue to be so in my current situation."
Polanski 76, is wanted in the US on 30-year-old child sex charges, while a Swiss decision on his extradition to the US is pending.
He continued:"I have been overwhelmed by the number of messages of support and sympathy I have received in Winterthur prison, and that I continue to receive here, in my chalet in Gstaad, where I am spending the holidays with my wife and my children. These messages have come from my neighbours, from people all over Switzerland, and from beyond Switzerland - from across the world."
Polanski, a French Pole, was said to have been indirectly assisted by the interest in the case of French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.
Polanski thanked his supporters. "I would like every one of them to know how heartening it is, when one is locked up in a cell, to hear this murmur of human voices and of solidarity in the morning mail. I would like to be able to answer all of them. But it is impossible: there are too many."
