Supreme Court refuses Noriega’s rehearing request

The Supreme Court on Monday said it will not reconsider former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega’s request to stop his extradition to France on money laundering charges.

The high court turned down Noriega’s petition for rehearing without comment.

A federal judge declared Noriega a prisoner of war after he was convicted of U.S. drug trafficking charges. Because of his POW status, Noriega contends under the Geneva Conventions he should have been repatriated to Panama after his prison sentence ended in September 2007.

Lower courts rejected that argument. He is still being held in a Miami prison.

Noriega is charged in France with violating anti-money laundering laws by allegedly using drug money to purchase apartments in Paris.

Noriega’s lawyer, Frank Rubino, said he will travel to France in the next few weeks to “see if we can work something out with them.”

“There are no options left in the U.S. It’s over,” Rubino said.

Rubino said he hasn’t been told when to expect Noriega to be moved from Miami to France. “He still wants to go home,” he said.

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Associated Press legal affairs writer Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this story.