Reply #5: Manuel Noriega is still imprisoned. [View All]

[ThirdWorldJohn]

Manuel noriega was captured by way of a sham war by GHW Bush and detained as a prisoner of war so that he could be tried in a civilian court and incarcerated. But then a federal judge decided he was covered by the Geneva Convention and he has been held in prison even though his sentence has been served.

The Feds make it up as they go along.

In the case against General Noriega, the Government's star witness, Carlos Lehder, a convicted Colombian cocaine trafficker, testified that the general accepted millions of dollars to allow shipment of cocaine through Panama. On cross-examination, he admitted that the Medellin cartel had paid $10 million to the Central Intelligence Agency-backed contra rebels of Nicaragua to transport cocaine into the United States.

Federal prosecutors were back in court the next day trying to impeach the testimony of their own star witness. Suddenly, Mr. Lehder was characterized by the Government as mentally unbalanced, a convicted felon and pathological liar.

The Bush Administration has tried to cloak the Noriega trial in "national security," and television has largely acquiesced. It is not surprising that the Government prefers the Noriega trial to remain closed to public scrutiny. After all, General Noriega was on the C.I.A. payroll when George Bush was C.I.A. director.

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/01/opinion/l-remember-the-noriega-trial-anyone-210292.html

Under Article 85 of the Third Geneva Convention<26>, Noriega is still considered a prisoner of war, despite his conviction for acts committed prior to his capture by the "detaining power" (the United States). This status has meant that he has his own prison cell furnished with electronics, which some have described as the "Presidential suite."<27>

Noriega's prison sentence was reduced from 30 years to 17 years for good behaviour. After serving 17 years in detention and imprisonment, his prison sentence ended Sunday September 9, 2007.<3> Noriega remains in prison as of April 2009.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Noriega

A sham indeed.