France to try Noriega

Paris - France plans to try jailed former Panamanian leader Gen Manuel Noriega on charges of money-laundering, judicial sources…

Paris - France plans to try jailed former Panamanian leader Gen Manuel Noriega on charges of money-laundering, judicial sources said yesterday.

Noriega, currently serving a 40-year sentence in the US for drug-trafficking, is expected to be tried in his absence for "laundering money from drug-trafficking", a charge that carries a maximum 10-year sentence. At the trial, to be held in a few months, Noriega will be accused of laundering some 15 million francs (£1.79 million).