The court, speaking through Judge William Hoeveler, has issued  a ruling, captioned Order Denying Defendant's Petition for Writs of Habeus Corpus, Mandamus, and Prohibition.* The points made:

• Whilst the Court did determine that the defendant was a Prisoner of War**, that finding was "primarily in the context of defendant's concerns about the care he would receive while in custody." It was actually a recommendation to the Bureau of Prisons regarding his confinement conditions.
  

• Noriega has not demonstrated any basis for a Writ of Prohibition, or a Writ of Mandamus. Only the Habeus petition will be considered.
  

• POW status cannot be used as a shield from extradition in a criminal case.
  

• If Noriega was repatriated to Panama, he would be protected under Panamanian law from extradition to France.
  

• His POW status will remain after his extradition to France. He can be ultimately repatriated to Panama after justice is served in the French case.
  

• Noriega must face the legitimately brought French criminal charges, as France is also a signatory to the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, and the US owes France  a duty for that reason.
  

• This court never intended its proclamation of POW status as a shield from all future prosecutions for serious crimes he is alleged to have committed.

His Petition for Habeus Corpus was denied without prejudice to renew as appropriate, as his actual release date has not yet arrived.The court stated that he has no right of direct appeal from an extradition order, thus another Habeus is his sole remedy at law.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________  *   See United States vs. Noriega, Case No.: 88-0079-cr-Hoeveler (S.D. Fla.)
** See United States vs. Noriega, 808 F.Supp. 791 (S.D. Fla. 1992)

*Research Note: Should any reader desire a copy of the Order, please send me an e-mail. 
 












Noriega's attorneys had argued that, since the court ruled that he was a prisoner of war, he must, under the protection of the Geneva Convention, be returned to  Panama. The judge rejected that argument, stating that his POW status offered no protection from extradition to a third country on criminal charges.