( CNN ) -- A Portuguese appeals court has ruled against extraditing fugitive American hijacking suspect George Wright to the United States , his attorney said Thursday . `` I am very , very happy , '' said Manuel Luis Ferreira , attorney for Wright , 68 , who was found in Portugal in September after more than 40 years in hiding . Wright said he was grateful to the Portuguese justice system . `` They made the right decision and this is correct , '' he told CNN affiliate RTP Portugal . Wright 's house arrest was also lifted , and he is free to move around with no restrictions , Ferreira said . A three-judge appeals court in Lisbon agreed with all Wright 's arguments to reject the U.S. bid for extradition , including the fact he is now a Portuguese citizen and is in declining health . They also agreed the statute of limitations on the case has expired , according to Portuguese state-run news agency LUSA . The United States can appeal to Portugal 's Supreme Court , Ferreira said . He said he could not release the court 's ruling as it is secret . The U.S. State Department said it was `` extremely disappointed '' in the ruling . `` George Wright is a convicted murderer guilty of an extremely serious crime which falls squarely within the terms of our bilateral extradition treaty with Portugal , '' the department said in a statement . `` He is a fugitive from justice . We expect Portugal to abide by its treaty obligations in this case . In conjunction with the Department of Justice , we will review the court 's decision and consult with Portuguese authorities to determine a path forward that results in Mr. Wright 's return to the United States . '' Wright escaped from prison in 1970 while serving a 15- to 30-year sentence for murder after he and another man shot and killed a World War II veteran in a 1962 gas station robbery in Farmingdale , New Jersey . On July 31 , 1972 , Wright and four other members of the Black Liberation Army went to the Detroit airport and boarded Delta Flight 841 for Miami . Wright was dressed as a priest and carrying a hollowed-out Bible . The group then allegedly hijacked the plane . Once it landed in Miami , they allegedly demanded that FBI agents dressed only in bathing suits deliver $ 1 million in ransom to the plane -- a way of making sure they were not armed . The FBI followed instructions , and the scantily clad agents delivered the money . After allowing the 88 passengers off , the hijackers kept the flight crew on board and ordered the plane to fly to Boston . When it arrived , an extra navigator -- dressed in swim trunks and a shirt -- was brought on board , the DC-8 was refueled , and it flew to Algiers , Algeria . The Algerian government seized the ransom money and returned it to the United States , but Wright and his associates vanished . Some were arrested in Paris in 1976 . It 's not clear how he wound up in Portugal . U.S. authorities were able to locate Wright near Lisbon by tracking his travel patterns , ending a manhunt spanning three continents . When seeking Wright , authorities matched a fingerprint in a Portuguese national identification database with one that they had on file for Wright from his time in prison , according to two U.S. law enforcement officials . Then they set up a delicate surveillance operation to make sure they had the man who had eluded them for so long , the officials added . Ferreira previously said his client was suffering from heart and blood pressure problems . `` He thinks that if he goes to the U.S. he will die , '' he told CNN earlier . `` He was a member of the Black Panthers group , and he fears that he will be made to serve as an example for everyone if he goes , and that he will die in prison . '' He said Wright was a married father of two adult sons who goes by the name Jose Luis Jorge dos Santos in Portugal .
NEW : U.S. expresses disappointment with the decision . Comment: Wright 's house arrest was also lifted , his attorney says . Wright is accused of hijacking a plane in 1972 in Miami .