Joran van der Sloot will be extradited from Peru to the United States. That writes AP news agency. The government of the South American country signed a decree on Wednesday that allows the 35-year-old Van der Sloot to be temporarily brought to the US. The Dutchman is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence in Peru for the murder of student Stephany Flores in 2010.
The case in which Van der Sloot has to stand trial in the US has to do with the disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005. She disappeared after an evening out on the island and Van der Sloot was the last person to be seen with her. Holloway’s body was never found. However, she was declared dead seven years later by an American judge. Van der Sloot has never been prosecuted for the disappearance, but is considered the main suspect.
Van der Sloot would have promised to tell Holloway’s family where they could find the student’s body. They would pay him $250,000 for that information. However, after a deposit of $ 25,000, the Dutchman left for Peru, without revealing anything to Holloway’s family. In Peru, he then murdered Stephany Flores in a hotel room in the Peruvian capital Lima. Van der Sloot is now charged with extortion and fraud in the US.
Alabama local media, where Holloway came from, quote Beth Holloway, the mother of the missing student. “She would now be 36 years old. It has been a long and painful journey, but the perseverance of many will pay off. Together we will finally get justice for Natalee,” she says.
Van der Sloot’s lawyer has said that he will challenge the decision of the Peruvian government. If Van der Sloot is extradited, he will later have to return to Peru to serve his remaining prison sentence. In addition, investigations into money laundering and drug smuggling in Peru are still ongoing against him.