Pianist Oscar-winning film director Roman Polanski

The Pianist Oscar-winning film director Roman Polanski has been detained in Switzerland after travelling to collect an award at the Zurich Film festival.

The Zurich festival organisers, who had been owing to give the 76-year-old director a lifetime achievement award, did not provide details of the arrest, excluding it is believed to be over a 31-year-old US arrest warrant. The director fled the US in 1978 after insistent guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl Samantha Geimer.

Roman Polanski was detained by police yesterday as he travelled from France to Switzerland to get his award.

A Zurich police spokesperson; Stefan Oberlin, definite Polanski’s arrested, but refused to give more details because he said it was a subject for the Swiss justice ministry. A ministry spokesperson, Guido Balmer, reject to comment.

In a report, the Zurich festival organisers said they had “learned of his arrest with huge dismay and sadness”, but harassed that they would go ahead with a planned nostalgic of his work and present the award on any more date.

Roman Polanski, who directed classic films with Chinatown and Rosemary’s Baby, lately sought dismissal of his case on grounds of misbehaviour by the late judge who arranged an appeal bargain and later renege on it.

In Feb, Judge Peter Espinoza decided there had been misbehaviour by the judge in the unique case, but said Polanski must return to the US to concern for dismissal.

His lawyers said he would not return as he is considered to be an escapee. He has not set base in the US for 30 years, and has avoided departing to countries, for instance the UK, that has an exile treaty with the US.

Polanski, who was intuitive in Paris, has survived in France for the past 30 years and his profession has continued to flourish.

He won an Oscar for his 2002 movie the Pianist, with the award composed on his behalf by the actor Harrison Ford.