(CNN) Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis has been detained in Italy over allegations of sexual assault and aggravated personal injury, according to a statement from local prosecutors and his legal team. The 69-year-old Canadian-born director and screenwriter, who won two Oscars for the 2004 crime drama "Crash," was in the country to attend a film festival that begins Tuesday in Ostuni, a tourist town in the southern Italian region of Puglia. Public prosecutors in the nearby town of Brindisi said in a statement Sunday that they issued a warrant for the detention of a "70-year-old" Canadian man identified as "P.H.," who was staying in Ostuni. They said: "The man is seriously suspected of the crimes of aggravated sexual violence and aggravated personal injury, crimes committed to the detriment of a young foreign woman." Haggis' US-based attorney, Priya Chaudhry, told CNN in an email on Monday that she was "confident that all allegations will be dismissed against Mr. Haggis," while noting that Italian law prevents her from discussing the evidence.

Source: CNN June 21, 2022 06:54 UTC