Film director Polanski wins libel trial over liar jibe

French-Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski has won a defamation trial having accused a British actress of lying after she alleged he had raped her.
On Tuesday, a Paris court acquitted the 90-year-old of the libel charges brought against him by Charlotte Lewis, who had accused Polanski of sexually abusing her in the 1980s when she was 16.
The Oscar winner was not present when the judgement was handed down.
Polanski had dismissed her allegations in an interview with the weekly magazine Paris Match. "The basic quality of a good liar is an excellent memory," he was quoted as saying in the interview published in 2019.
Lewis had claimed at a press conference in 2010 that the director had raped her in 1983. However, she did not file a lawsuit against Polanski at that time. She only took the legal route after his liar reference to Paris Match.
Lewis had starred in a minor supporting role in Polanski's film "Pirates" released in 1986.
The Paris public prosecutor's office had already pointed out in advance that the court judgement would not decide on the truth of the alleged rape or the authenticity of quotes attributed to Lewis.
Rather, it would be a question of whether Polanski had taken his freedom of expression too far, it said.
In 1977, Polanski was arrested in the United States over allegations he raped a 13-year-old girl. He fled to Europe after it looked like a judge would reject a plea bargain. Other allegations have followed but Polanski maintains his innocence.