Noriega Must Return to
Panama, Lawyer Says
Former Panamanian
military leader Manuel
Noriega must be returned
to Panama when he leaves
his U.S. prison in
September and will fight
attempts to put him on
trial in another
country, his lawyer said
on Tuesday.
Noriega, convicted in
Miami in 1992 of
trafficking,
racketeering and
conspiracy, was
originally given a
40-year sentence but
will soon be freed
because of good behavior
and time served. France
is anxious to put him on
trial for money
laundering.
Speaking by telephone
from Miami, attorney
Frank Rubino said his
client has to be sent
home when released
because he is a prisoner
of war.
"I don't think the U.S.
government has the legal
authority to send him to
France," Rubino told
Reuters. "I don't see
how the U.S. can just
tear up the Geneva
Conventions."
Noriega was captured by
U.S. forces after the
1989 invasion of Panama
and jailed in Florida on
charges he let Colombian
traffickers use Panama
as a transit hub for
U.S.-bound drugs.
Noriega was granted
prisoner-of-war status
and has served most of
his time in a specially
built 250-square-foot
(23-square-metre) cell
dubbed the "presidential
suite."
On Monday, the U.S.
State Department
confirmed that
extradition requests
against Noriega were
pending, but did not
comment on their status.
Noriega was convicted in
absentia by Panama's
courts for murder and
the government has said
he would face justice
there if he returns. |
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