Panama's Noriega Appeals
Extradition From U.S. To
France
Former Panamanian
dictator Manuel Noriega
has requested that a
U.S. appeals court
overrule three federal
judges and block his
extradition to France to
face money-laundering
charges.
Attorneys for Noriega
want the 11th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals
in Atlanta to allow him
to return home to
Panama. As before, they
argue Noriega is a
prisoner of war and
should be repatriated
under the Geneva
Conventions.
"Plainly, the prisoner
of war convention
requires the immediate
return home of prisoners
of war at the end of
hostilities, subject to
completion of any
sentence imposed for
crimes," attorneys Frank
Rubino and Jonathan May
argued in the brief
filed Monday.
Three federal judges in
Miami have previously
rejected that argument,
concluding that France's
extradition request is
proper. The Bush
administration has
argued in favor of
extradition and Geneva
Conventions do not
apply.
Noriega, 73, once a
valuable CIA asset in
Latin America, was
ousted after a 1989 U.S.
military invasion of
Panama as his government
became increasingly
linked to Colombian
cocaine cartels. Noriega
was tried and convicted
of drug racketeering in
a Miami federal court.
In September, just as
his sentence was up,
France suddenly
announced it wanted to
try Noriega for
allegedly laundering 3
million U.S. dollars in
drug proceeds through
French banks. Panama
also has a pending
extradition request for
Noriega, but it has been
ignored by the United
States.
While imprisoned near
Miami, Noriega was
convicted in France of
drug money laundering.
But the French have said
he will get a new trial
if extradited and faces
a possible 10-year
prison sentence.
A judge has ordered that
Noriega remain in the
United States until his
legal appeals are
exhausted. A final
decision on his
extradition rests with
Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice or her
successor.
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