Convoy carrying Noriega arrives at court, lawyers comment скачать в хорошем качестве

Convoy carrying Noriega arrives at court, lawyers comment

(30 Jun 2010) 1. Wide exterior of the back entrance to the Palace of Justice 2. Close up of security camera 3. Wide of convoy, believed to be bringing Manuel Noriega to court, arrive at back entrance AUDIO: police sirens 4. Mid rear view of the truck 5. Wide of activity at back entrance 6. Wide interior of media inside the Palace of Justice 7. Close up of media 8. Mid of police by the courtroom door 9. SOUNDBITE (French) Yves Leberquier, One of Manuel Noriega's lawyers: "No element in the file allows us to say that the funds found in France are funds that come from drug trafficking." 10. Mid of people outside of courtroom 11. SOUNDBITE (French) Olivier Metzner, One of Manuel Noriega's lawyers: "Yes of course, the trial is taking place fairly, as they usually do in France. There is no difficulty in those terms. The General (Noriega) was able to explain himself completely. He was allowed to speak for as long as he wished and I think that it was a good thing for a man who has been incarcerated, who has not seen freedom for the past twenty years. He is obviously weak, he is obviously sick, so it is time for him to find freedom." 12. Wide of people outside of the courtroom STORYLINE: Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega's trial in Paris for money laundering was due to wrap up on Wednesday after three days of hearings, but a ruling was not expected for weeks or months. 76-year-old Noriega was deposed after a 1989 American invasion and went on to spend two decades behind bars in Florida for drug trafficking. In April, he was extradited to France to face charges that he laundered profits from cocaine trafficking through French banks. Those charges, he said in court, were nothing more than "an imaginary financial setup." Noriega, who faces up to 10 years in prison and multimillion euro (dollar) fines in France if convicted, said in court that he is a victim of the same conspiracy that the US brought against him One of Noriega's lawyers, Yves Leberquier, said outside court on Wednesday that "no element in the file allows us to say that the funds found in France are funds that come from drug trafficking." Another one of his lawyers, Olivier Metzner, said the trial was being conducted fairly and that Noriega was given an opportunity to defend himself. " He was allowed to speak for as long as he wished and I think that it was a good thing for a man who has been incarcerated, who has not seen freedom for the past twenty years. He is obviously weak, he is obviously sick, so it is time for him to find freedom," he added. Noriega countered the prosecution's assertion that the money that moved through French banks was kickbacks from a Colombian drug cartel, insisting the cash came from "personal and family businesses," including the duty-free store at the Panama City airport, as well as from the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). Noriega had been considered a valued CIA asset for years before he joined forces with drug traffickers and was implicated in the death of a political opponent. Noriega said the United States turned against him when he refused to participate in a US plan aimed at ousting the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. The leftist Sandinistas fought US-backed Contra rebels in the 1980s. France already convicted Noriega and his wife in absentia in 1999 for laundering several (m) million dollars in cocaine profits through three major French banks and using drug cash to invest in three luxurious Paris apartments on the Left Bank. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...