At Roman Polanski's request, I would like to share the letter he has written me with all of his friends and supporters, in particular the readers of The Huffington Post. It is here, in these columns, that I have published my articles and expressed my position, from the very beginning.
Thanks to the generous access provided by Arianna Huffington and her staff, I have been able to present a different "voice," one that contrasts with the howling of the pack. And so it seems natural, priority dictates, that the readers of my journal in France and the readers of Arianna's journal in the United States should be the first to read these words, Roman Polanski's first words since his incarceration.
My dear Bernard-Henri Lévy, what you have said in the Swiss press is true -- 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 neighbors, from people all over Switzerland, and from beyond Switzerland -- from across the world. 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. 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.
I would like to be able to answer all of them. But it is impossible: there are too many. Do you have any suggestions as to how I could reply? Perhaps in your journal, La Règle du jeu, which has supported me from the very first day? Perhaps you could disseminate these few words I'm sending you? I don't know. I'll leave it up to you.
Happy holidays to you and yours -- and, through you, to all of these unknown friends whom I am discovering day after day, and who have helped me so much.
My warmest regards,
Roman Polanski