Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Manuel Noriega Hears Charges in Paris Court VOA News 27 April 2010 Yves Leberquier, lawyer of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, addresses the media outside Paris courthouse after his client appears before a judge who will decide whether or not to keep him behind bars or release him, 27 Apr 2010 Photo: AP Yves Leberquier, lawyer of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, addresses the media outside Paris courthouse after his client appears before a judge, 27 Apr 2010 Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, 76, extradited from the United States Monday, has appeared before a French magistrate in Paris to face charges of laundering illicit drug money. The 76-year-old general, who ruled Panama from 1981 to 1989, arrived in Paris early Tuesday aboard an Air France flight from Miami, Florida. A French judge was to rule later in the day on a bond request filed by Noriega's lawyers. Noriega left a Miami prison Monday, after serving a 17-year sentence for drug-trafficking and other charges.  In the French case, authorities claim he laundered about $7 million in drug profits in the 1980s, by purchasing luxury apartments in Paris. He has already been convicted in absentia on those charges, but he is entitled to a new trial under French law. The former dictator surrendered to U.S. troops in 1990, shortly after the U.S. invasion of Panama. In this Jan 1990, U.S. Marshalls file photo, deposed Panamanian Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega is seen at an undisclosed location AP In this Jan 1990, U.S. Marshalls file photo, deposed Panamanian Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega is seen at an undisclosed location Noriega's attorneys argued in the 1990s that he was a prisoner of war under the Geneva Conventions, and therefore should be allowed to return home to Panama. A U.S. federal appeals court rejected the argument, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his case. Panama's foreign minister, Juan Carlos Varela, says his government respects the decision by the U.S. to send Noriega to France. But he says Panama will continue to use all legal and diplomatic means to bring the former dictator back to serve the sentences handed down by the courts there. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. .