A federal judge in Miami on Friday refused to block the extradition of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to France, where is accused of laundering millions of dollars in drug proceeds through French banks.
U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler rejected arguments by Noriega's lawyers that his status as a U.S. prisoner of war negated the French request under the Geneva Conventions and required his return home to Panama.
Noriega is scheduled to be released on Sept. 9 from a U.S. prison, where he has served 15 years in prison for drug trafficking and racketeering.
Prosecutors want him extradite him to France, where he was convicted on money laundering charges in absentia in 1999. Noriega faces up to ten years in prison there.
Noriega's lawyers had argued he should be sent back to Panama, where Noriega wants to fight a conviction in the slayings of two political opponents.
U.S. forces captured Noriega after a 1989 military invasion.
A hearing before a different judge is scheduled Tuesday on France's extradition request.
From NPR reports and The Associated Press
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