Noriega flown to Panama for more prison

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PARIS, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega left Paris Sunday, heading for Panama where he will serve 40 years in a "recently remodeled" jail, an official said.

Noriega, 77, is being guarded by a group of six Foreign Ministry officials, police, doctors and a prosecutor on his flight from Paris to Panama, Euronews.net reported. He is expected to arrive at 5:30 p.m. local time.

Noriega had been in France for the past year on charges of money laundering. He previously spent 20 years in a U.S. prison for drug trafficking, and was convicted in absentia of corruption and murder in Panama, and faces other charges from his time as ruler of the Central American country.

Because Noriega is more than 70 years old, the Panamanian government could allow him to serve his time under house arrest, Radio France Internationale reported.

The prison near the Panama Canal where Noriega will serve his sentence for the deaths of 11 people is "recently remodeled," Minister of Government Roxana Mendez told RFI.

The facility includes a private bathroom, a small visiting room, a double bed, a refrigerator, furniture and chairs, and a ramp for mobility, she added.