PARIS, June 29 (UPI) -- Former Panamanian strongman Gen. Manuel Noriega went on trial in Paris Monday, accused of laundering drug money in France.
The 76-year-old former dictator, who spent 20 years in U.S. prisons before being extradited to France in April, is accused of using money from a Colombian drug cartel to buy luxury properties in Paris in the 1980s, The Guardian reported.
Noriega and his wife Felicidad were convicted of money laundering in absentia by a French court in 1999, sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $13.8 million. His retrial is on the same charge -- that he laundered $2.9 million from the Medellin cocaine cartel through the BCCI bank, officially the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, during the 1980s, allegedly using the money to buy three luxury apartments in Paris that French authorities since have seized.
As the trial began, his lawyer, Olivier Metzner, said France violated Geneva conventions, making his extradition and detention improper. Metzner argued Noriega should be regarded as a prisoner of war.
"He was arrested after the United States invaded Panama," Metzger said. "General Noriega was the head of the armed forces in Panama at the time. He is a former head of state whose powers were recognized by the national assembly no less."
Noriega asked for but was refused permission to wear his Panamanian military uniform at his trial, The Guardian said.
The trial is expected to last three days but court officials told the British newspaper a decision could take several months.
Panama has asked France to return Noriega to face a trial for human rights abuses.
