( CNN ) -- Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega can be extradited to his home country , a French appeals court said in an opinion issued Wednesday , according to a court spokeswoman . France ordered Noriega 's extradition earlier this year , responding to a Panamanian government request for the former dictator 's return to face charges that he had a political rival killed . The extradition was held up by court action , however . It was unclear when French Prime Minister Francois Fillon would sign the extradition order to set in motion Noriega 's transfer . Last year , a French court sentenced Noriega to seven years in prison for money laundering . He also was fined almost 2.3 million euros ( $ 2.9 million ) , the amount of drug money he was accused of laundering through French banks . Noriega denied the charges . Panamanian officials want him to face justice there in the case of the killing of Hugo Spadafora , a doctor and political opponent of Noriega . Noriega was convicted in absentia of being involved with the kidnapping and killing of Spadafora in 1985 . The U.S. government has portrayed Noriega as the ultimate crooked cop -- a man who was paid millions by the Medellin drug cartel in Colombia to protect cocaine and money shipments . He was convicted of drug trafficking and other crimes in the United States . U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cleared the way for Noriega to be sent to France in April 2010 after he spent 20 years in a U.S. federal prison . Noriega and his attorneys had argued the United States was violating the Geneva Convention by not sending him back to Panama , where he was seized by U.S. troops after the United States invaded that country in 1989 in Operation Nifty Package . U.S. federal courts ruled against him . When U.S. forces invaded the country , Noriega fled his offices and tried to seek sanctuary in the Vatican Embassy in Panama City . U.S. troops set up large speakers around the compound , blaring music at all hours , a psychological ploy to rattle the general . He eventually surrendered on January 3 , 1990 , and was quickly escorted to the United States for a civilian trial . Noriega 's U.S. sentence , originally for 30 years , ended in September 2007 after time off for good behavior . However , he remained in prison while the French extradition issue was decided . While in U.S. custody , Noriega suffered from prostate cancer and had a stroke . CNN 's Saskya Vandoorne , Tom Cohen and Alanne Orjoux contributed to this report .
NEW : The timing of Noriega 's transfer to Panama is unclear . France ordered Noriega 's extradition earlier this year . Panama has requested the former dictator 's return to face charges . Noriega is accused of having a political rival in Panama killed .