Noriega in France to face charges

A French judged ordered former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega jailed on Tuesday while he awaits trial on money-laundering charges.

France alleges that Noriega laundered about $7 million US in drug money by buying luxury Parisian apartments with his wife. He had been tried and convicted in absentia in 1999, but France agreed to a new trial if the U.S. extradited him.

Noriega arrived Tuesday morning on a direct flight from Miami and was served with an international arrest warrant

He appeared before French prosecutors in a closed-door session Tuesday morning to hear the charges against him. Later in the day, Noriega appeared before the judge who ruled he should be kept behind bars pending his trial.

Noriega pleaded to be allowed to return to Panama, but the judge ruled he was a flight risk. Noriega's lawyers said they would appeal the ruling.

Guillaume Didier, a spokesman for the French Justice Ministry, has said that Noriega could go on trial within two months. If convicted, Noriega could face another 10 years behind bars.

Noriega, who was ousted in a U.S. invasion in 1989, was convicted in 1992 of drug trafficking and sent to prison in Miami. Following the end of his sentence in 2007, Noriega remained behind bars pending his French extradition.

Suffered stroke

The former dictator's French lawyers say Noriega is weak and partially paralyzed after suffering a stroke four years ago.

Yves Leberquier, one of Noriega's lawyers, said it was illegal to try a former head of state who should have immunity from prosecution.

He also said French jails cannot accommodate prisoners of war, and that the charges against Noriega happened too long ago and are no longer valid.

A Miami federal judge declared Noriega a prisoner of war after he was convicted of drug trafficking and racketeering in 1992. The status meant Noriega had separate quarters in his Miami prison, and was given the right to wear his military uniform and insignia. He also had access to a television and monitoring by international rights groups.