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Polanski sues over sex claims
 Polanski fears extradition to the U.S. if he visits the UK. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSLONDON, England -- Roman Polanski's libel action against the publishers of Vanity Fair magazine began at London's High Court on Monday -- with the Oscar-winning film director giving evidence from Paris. The 71-year-old is suing Conde Naste over an article published three years ago which alleged that he flirted with a woman soon after the death of his actress wife Sharon Tate in 1969. Tate, who was eight-months pregnant, and four friends were murdered by followers of Charles Manson at the home she shared with Polanski in California. Vanity Fair alleged that Polanski, who was overseas at the time of the killings, made sexual advances towards a "Swedish beauty" in a New York restaurant en route to Tate's funeral. Polanski said he was the victim of an "abominable lie," adding that he had been in a "state of shock" as he read the article. "This was the worst thing ever written about me. It's absolutely not true. But I think it was particularly hurtful, because it dishonours my memory of Sharon," he added. He said he was "sedated and dazed" and had only hazy memories of the period immediately after Tate's death. Polanski's lawyer said Vanity Fair had accused his client of "monstrous conduct by any bereft husband and father-to-be." "It would demonstrate a callous indifference to what had happened and to his wife's memory of breathtaking proportions," John Kelsey-Fry said in his opening statement. Polanski, who admits being unfaithful to Tate during their marriage, struggled to keep his composure as he spoke via a video link about their relationship. "Sharon was sweet, bright, brilliant. She had a great sense of humor ... she was in my eyes the perfect woman," he said. Asked by Conde Naste lawyer Tom Shields whether he had seduced another woman within four weeks of Tate's death, Polanski said: "Maybe I was seduced by someone ... I never considered sex, particularly at that pre-AIDS period, as something harmful. Quite the contrary." The Polish-born director said he risked arrest and extradition to the U.S. on child sex charges if he entered the UK. In 1977 Polanski pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in California, but fled to Europe before he was sentenced. Kelsey-Fry said the incident was a "most unsightly blot" on Polanski's reputation but irrelevant to the case. In February British law lords ruled that Polanski, who won an Oscar for best director in 2003 with The Pianist, should not be denied access to justice because of his extradition fears. Actress Mia Farrow and Tate's sister Debra are expected to be called as witnesses in the trial which is expected to last around a week. 
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