French PM to decide on Noriega extradition request

(newsroompanama.com) French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has received the formal request from the Panamanian government for the extradition of former dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega says news agency EFE.

Noriega  is serving a seven year jail sentence in France for money laundering.  Earlier this year, a French court upheld an earlier ruling convicting him of using French banks to launder $3 million in proceeds from drug cartels.

The Panamanian Foreign Ministry sent the request for extradition so Noriega can face charges for the murder of Dr Hugo Spadafora. The 76 year old former dictator faces a prison term of 20 years if convicted.

The government, however, has failed to send extradition requests to France for two other pending murder cases involving Noriega says La Prensa

Those cases are for the murder of Moses Giroldi and for the killing of nine soldiers known as "the Albrook massacre"after they participated in a rebellion.
Those cases are still in the hands of the Supreme Court.

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Original Source: newsroompanama.com
Date Retrieved: September 23, 2010.