An Interpol official in Peru tells Fox News Digital he believes Joran van der Sloot will be transferred to the United States despite last-minute efforts by his lawyer to keep him in the country.
Van der Sloot is the prime suspect in the May 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba during a Mountain Brook High School, Alabama, senior trip.
Maximo Altez, a lawyer for van der Sloot, told Fox News Digital he has filed a habeas corpus petition against the Peruvian government in an attempt to stop the transfer of his client to the United States.
The court filing by Altez says his client wasn’t notified by Peruvian officials of the “temporary extradition” process that was ongoing against him, which Altez contends is a “serious constitutional violation.”
López Aeda said van der Sloot is being held at the Ancón 1 Prison in Lima until he’s transferred to FBI custody on Thursday. The FBI will then take him to the U.S.
“He is already admitted to the Ancón 1 Prison in Lima awaiting his next transfer to the USA,” López Aeda said.
A Peruvian court on Wednesday ordered the director of Ancón 1 Prison to notify van der Sloot of the upcoming extradition.
Natalee Holloway was last seen alive in Aruba while on a Mountain Brook High School senior trip. (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
“[Van der Sloot] will leave [Challapalca] tonight, and on Sunday morning he will be in Lima, ready for the transfer,” López Aeda said.
Natalee Holloway’s body has never been found. In January 2012, van der Sloot pleaded guilty to killing Flores, and Natalee Holloway was legally declared dead that month.