Noriega extradited

Lawyers for the former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega said they would fight for his release after he was extradited to France.

The 76-year-old was flown to Paris after being taken from a cell in Miami where he had completed a 17-year sentence for drug smuggling. On his arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport, the former general was taken to the Paris justice court where he was placed under arrest.

Noriega, the former self-declared "Maximum Leader" of Panama, was convicted in his absence by a French court in 1999 of laundering cocaine profits through banks. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Under French law, Noriega is entitled to a fresh trial at which he is present.

Lawyers contest French jurisdiction

Defense lawyers for Noriega contest France's jurisdiction to try the case. They argue that he should be allowed to return to Panama, where he has also been convicted in his absence.

"We are going to do everything to show that he does not belong in France, that this man must be allowed to return home," said lawyer Olivier Metzner.

Prosecutors accuse Noriega of transferring the equivalent of 2.3 million euros ($3.04 million)to bank accounts in France from Colombian drug dealers and of using the money to buy apartments.

Once a prized CIA informant, Noriega fell out with Washington during the 1980s. He gained power in Panama in 1983 and was deposed in 1989 when US troops were sent into the country to arrest him.

rc/AFP/Reuters

Editor: Susan Houlton