A Dutchman jailed in Peru for murder will be handed over to face charges in the United States related to the 2005 disappearance of an American woman in Aruba, authorities said Wednesday.
The ruling marks a turnaround from the South American country’s decision in 2012, when it said it would only send Dutch national Joran Van der Sloot to the United States in 2038 once he had completed a 28-year prison sentence for murdering a Peruvian woman.
Van der Sloot, now 35, is the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of 18-year-old US college student Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island of Aruba.
Peru’s 2012 decision on his extradition followed a request from a federal court in the US state of Alabama.
The court indictment says Van der Sloot demanded $25,000 from Holloway’s parents in exchange for information on their daughter’s whereabouts. He fled to Peru once he received the money.
Peru’s Supreme Court on Wednesday authorized “the temporary surrender of Joran Van der Sloot for his prosecution in that country (the United States) for the alleged crimes of extortion and fraud”.
“Once the criminal proceedings against Van der Sloot are concluded, he will immediately be returned to the authorities of Peru,” it said.
Holloway’s disappearance received wide media coverage in the United States.
Van der Sloot pleaded guilty to murdering 21-year-old Stephany Flores in May 2010, after meeting her in a casino.
© Agence France-Presse
