The FINANCIAL -- According to RIA Novosti, Serbian film director Emir Kusturica has criticized Switzerland's recent arrest of Roman Polanski, saying he was deceitfully lured into the country.

"I am not defending Roman Polanski's sexual activities but what was very awful in this case is that he was ambushed," Kusturica said after a concert of his No Smoking Orchestra band in south Russia's Rostov-on-Don.

"He was called to be given the award for the life achievement and they put him into jail. This is really awful. Somebody calls you to give an award and they put you in jail," he said.

On October 6, Polanski lost his first appeal to be released from a Swiss prison while the U.S. prepares its request for his extradition.

The Oscar-winning director, 76, best known for his films Rosemary's Baby (1968), Chinatown (1974), and the Pianist (2002), fled the U.S. in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.

He was arrested on September 26 after arriving in Switzerland for the Zurich Film Festival.

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