Swiss media on Monday called the arrest of film director Roman Polanski at Zurich airport a stain on the country's image.
"Switzerland let a guest walk into a nasty trap. We should be ashamed," commented the Blick tabloid.
Polanski, 76, who faces child sex charges dating back to 1977 in the United States, was detained when he arrived in Switzerland on Saturday night to attend the Zurich film festival.
Several Swiss newspapers drew a link between the detention and Switzerland's dispute with the United States over banking secrecy. "Switzerland has shocked film buffs and friends of the arts with its kindly and efficient cooperation with US justice. It has angered Poland and France," said Le Temps daily.
Le Matin drew a link between the banking secrecy dispute and the arrest. UBS bank was forced to hand over the names of 4,450 Americans suspected of tax fraud in their own country.
"It is difficult not to make a link between the UBS affair and the surprise arrest of Roman Polanski. Was Switzerland trying to please the United States, at the risk of an excess of zeal which has not improved its image abroad?" questioned the newspaper.
Blick said Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf's argument that Switzerland had no choice but to carry out the US arrest request was "ridiculous". "The Americans now believe that the Swiss government is 'extremely cooperative' and such praise hurts. Extremely cooperative people are the ones who do more than they need to because they want to polish their image," said the tabloid.
Zurich daily Tages-Anzeiger cast doubt over the possibility of a fair trial for Polanski, and said he had demonstrated since 1978 that he was "not a threat to anyone. That's why the drama surrounding the Oscar winner must be ended. The director of the final act is now a US judge," the newspaper commented.
