Roman Polanski faces more time in jail after his legal team asked a Swiss court to release him and were told a decision could take weeks.

Polanski is being held in Switzerland on a US arrest warrant over his conviction, 30 years ago, for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.

It is not clear why legal proceedings have been made now.

But on Tuesday, US prosecutors claimed the 76-year-old had been on an Interpol "wanted list" for years.

Polanski's agent, Jeff Berg, said the arrest made "no sense" as he had travelled extensively across Europe.

But US authorities implied the filmmaker had been adept at evading arrest.

"The idea that we have known where he is and we could have gotten him anytime, that just isn't the case," said Chief Inspector of the US Marshals Service Thomas Hession.

Source: Press Release