LIMA, Peru (AP) - Confessed murderer Joran van der Sloot told a judge on Tuesday that he will fight extradition from Peru to the United States, where he faces extortion and wire fraud charges in connection with the disappearance of American Natalee Holloway, his lawyer said.
Van der Sloot remains the prime suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of Holloway in Aruba. He faces an indictment in the U.S. for allegedly accepting $25,000 in early 2010 in exchange for an unfulfilled promise to lead her mother's lawyer to the body.
Judge Zenaida Vilca informed Van der Sloot of the U.S. extradition request during a closed door meeting at Piedras Gordas prison just north of Lima.
If he stays put, Van der Sloot could be released on parole after serving a third of his 28-year sentence for killing a Lima woman he met at a casino in May 2010.
But if he were convicted in the U.S. he likely wouldn't qualify for early parole in Peru. Under the U.S.-Peru extradition treaty he would be returned to Peru to finish out his sentence. Then, if were convicted in the U.S., he would be sent there to serve the second sentence.