Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PANAMA CITY (AP) — A lawyer for Panama's jailed ex-dictator Manuel Noriega says a court has granted him house arrest so he can prepare for brain surgery.
Attorney Ezra Angel announced the ruling Monday.
The 82-year-old former strongman needs to have a benign brain tumor surgically removed.
A court had ruled in October that Noriega be allowed to prepare for and recuperate from the procedure at a public hospital rather than prison.
But Angel has argued that Noriega should be allowed to recuperate at home. He said last year that neither prison nor the hospital would be adequate.
Noriega ruled Panama from 1983 until a U.S. invasion ousted him in 1989. He's been behind bars in the U.S., France and Panama since then.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.