August 29, 2007	Wednesday	Sha’aban 15, 1428

MIAMI, Aug 28: A federal judge on Tuesday approved the extradition to France of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega after he completes a US prison sentence on Sept 9.

Judge William Turnoff handed down the decision at a hearing in Miami after the United States formally requested that Noriega, 72, be sent to France, where he has been convicted in absentia for money laundering and sentenced to 10 years.

Under US law, the judge will formally issue the extradition order on Wednesday and then the State Department will have the final say on Noriega’s transfer.

“The judge hasn’t actually signed the extradition order yet. He asked us to prepare the order, which we are doing,” said a US Justice Department spokesman.

Noriega was a US ally during the Cold War and worked for years with the Central Intelligence Agency, but he eventually fell out of favour with Washington amid charges he was involved in narcotics trafficking.

Noriega’s lawyers had called for the former general to be sent to Panama, instead of France, even though he has also been convicted in absentia in the Central American country for crimes committed during his rule from 1983-1989.

Noriega was captured in the US invasion of 1989 ordered by then President George H.W. Bush, the father of the current US president, and was convicted by US authorities of drug trafficking.

The ex-Panamian leader’s lawyers had argued their client was protected by the Geneva Conventions because he was captured during the US military invasion, and so should be repatriated upon completing his prison time.

But Turnoff rejected their argument.

“The rights asserted by General Noriega simply do not exist under the Geneva Conventions,” he said.

On Friday in a separate hearing, another judge ruled that an extradition to France would not violate the international treaty, citing an excerpt stating the conventions’ protection of civilians does not prevent the extradition of accused common criminals.In France, authorities said Noriega would be given a new trial on the money laundering charges.—AFP