Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, to be released from a U.S. prison in September, was due in court Monday for a hearing on an extradition request from France, which wants him to be tried there, according to The Associated Press. Noriega, 72, is to leave a Miami prison Sept. 9 after serving 15 years for drug trafficking and racketeering. He wants to fly immediately to Panama to fight a conviction in the slayings of two political opponents, his lawyers have said. But American prosecutors are pushing for his extradition to France, where Noriega was convicted in absentia in 1999 on money-laundering charges. He was accused of using drug profits in part to buy luxurious apartments in Paris. Noriega is set to appear before Senior U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler, the same jurist who presided over his original trial. Hoeveler will decide whether the U.S. extradition attempt is valid, although it is unclear when he will rule. A magistrate judge will separately decide whether Noriega should actually be sent to France. Federal prosecutors have said that Hoeveler should allow that judge to rule first _ a hearing in his court is set for Aug. 28. Noriega's attorneys argue that Hoeveler declared Noriega a prisoner of war, a designation that they say requires he be sent home to Panama under the Geneva Conventions. The U.S. says the Geneva Conventions cannot be used to block his extradition.
