Global Courant 2023-05-11 09:32:13
Lima, Peru — The government of Peru has allowed the extradition to the United States of the prime suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba, leading her family to hope that justice will be served in the case.
Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot is being tried for alleged racketeering and telegram fraud, charges stemming from the Holloway case. The Peruvian embassy in Washington told The Associated Press on Wednesday that an executive order authorizes his temporary extradition.
Holloway, who lived in suburban Birmingham, Alabama, was 18 when she was last seen traveling with classmates to Aruba. Her mysterious disappearance after a night out with friends at a nightclub sparked years of coverage, especially in the tabloids and true crime media.
Holloway’s body was never found and no charges were brought against Van der Sloot in the case. A judge later pronounced Holloway dead.
An Alabama grand jury indicted Van der Sloot in 2010 for wire fraud and racketeering, accusing him of extorting $250,000 from Holloway’s mother in exchange for information about where her daughter was buried.
An FBI agent wrote in an affidavit that Van der Sloot contacted Holloway’s mother and wanted $25,000 to disclose the location and then another $225,000 when the remains were recovered. During a recorded sting operation, Van der Sloot pointed to a house where he said Holloway was buried, but in later emails he admitted lying about the location, the officer said.
Van der Sloot is in Peru as he is serving 28 years in prison after being convicted of the murder of 21-year-old Peruvian student Stephany Flores whom he met in 2010 at a casino in Lima.
The murder took place on the day five years after Holloway’s disappearance in Aruba, where Van der Sloot lived. She was last seen leaving a bar with him.
Peru’s Justice Minister Daniel Maurate said in a statement Wednesday that the government has decided to accept “the request” from US authorities “to prosecute the temporary transfer” of Van der Sloot on charges of extortion and fraud.
“We will continue to work on legal issues with allies such as the United States and many others with whom we have extradition treaties,” said Edgar Alfredo Rebaza, director of the Peruvian National Prosecutor’s Office for International Judicial Cooperation and Extraditions.
A 2001 treaty between Peru and the US allows a suspect to be temporarily extradited to face trial in the other country. It requires the detainee to be “returned” after the legal proceedings “against that person” have ended, under terms to be determined by both countries.
In a statement, the young woman’s mother, Beth Holloway, said she was blessed with Natalee for 18 years of her life.
“She would be 36 years old now. It has been a very long and painful journey, but the persistence of many will pay off. Together we will finally get justice for Natalee,” said Beth Holloway.
Lawyer Maximo Altez, who represents Van der Sloot, told the AP he will challenge the decision once properly notified by the Peruvian government.
“I’m going to challenge that resolution,” Altez said. “I’m going to oppose it, as he has a right to defense.”
Van der Sloot pleaded guilty to a murder charge against Flores in January 2012.
Prosecutors accused him of killing Flores, a business student from a prominent family, in order to rob her after learning she had won money at the casino where the two met. They said he killed her with “cruelty” and “cruelty”, beating and then strangling her in his hotel room.
Van der Sloot was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday. More than a decade ago, he told a Peruvian judge he would resist attempts to be extradited to the US
Van der Sloot married a Peruvian woman in July 2014 in a ceremony held in a high-security prison.
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Associated Press journalist Regina García Cano reported from Mexico City.
