Panama's Jailed Leader Noriega Is a 'Prisoner of War' (Update3)

[struggle4progress]

By Bill Faries

... Noriega, captured by U.S. forces in Panama following a U.S. invasion in December 1989, is wanted by French authorities for alleged money laundering. He is due to complete a 20-year U.S. sentence on eight drug-related charges on Sept. 9 ...

The legal status of Noriega, which the U.S. State and Justice Departments disagree on, could help determine whether the former dictator can be extradited to France, where the charges against him date to a 1999 ruling by the district court of Paris. In Panama, Noriega has been convicted in abstentia of crimes related to the murder of a political adversary, Hugo Spadafora.

``Noriega is not a prisoner of war,'' Brian Sierra, a spokesman at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, wrote in an e-mail to Bloomberg. ``He is a convict serving a term in U.S. federal prison on drug trafficking and money laundering charges,'' Sierra said, adding that the department does not comment on or confirm extradition requests from other countries ...

``The Defendant Noriega is plainly a prisoner of war under the Geneva Convention,'' the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida said in its ruling ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aRqJeObHI.Ls&refer=latin_america