PANAMA CITY, Panama (AFP) – Panama’s former dictator Manuel Noriega has been allowed to move from prison to house arrest in order to undergo an operation for a non-malignant brain tumor, his lawyer said Monday.
The country’s Supreme Court granted the lesser detention after hearing recommendations from the 82-year-old’s doctors, attorney Ezra Angel said.
Noriega, who is increasingly frail, is serving three 20-year sentences for the disappearances of opponents during his 1983-1990 rule. The United States invaded Panama in 1989, seizing Noriega on drug trafficking and money laundering charges.