Peru moves Joran van der Sloot for extradition to the US, disappearance of Natalee Holloway

Joran van der Sloot was transferred to another prison in Peru on Saturday, CNN reports. The 35-year-old Dutch prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of American Natalee Holloway is to be extradited to the United States, and this transfer is a step in that process.

The process of transferring Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in Natalee Holloway's disappearance, from Peru to the US begins tonight, a source says https://t.co/LIZVpZe9Fd

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) June 2, 2023

According to CNN, Van der Sloot was taken from the maximum security prison in the south under strict security measures and transferred to a place in the Peruvian capital Lima. His lawyer said this week that Van der Sloot was not contesting the extradition and wanted to go to the United States. Last week, Van der Sloot was also reportedly involved in a brawl that required treatment in the prison's medical unit.

Van der Sloot is being prosecuted in the U.S. for extorting Holloway's family. He was the last seen with her before she disappeared during a school trip in Aruba. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, he accepted $25,000 in cash from Holloway's family in 2010, shortly before he left for Peru. In exchange, he would lead them to Natalee's body. But Holloway was never found, and no charges were filed against Van der Sloot in the case. In an interview with Van Susteren for Fox News in 2008, Van der Sloot claimed he had sold Holloway to a human trafficker. But he later said he made up the story. A judge later pronounced Holloway dead.

Van der Sloot is serving a 28-year sentence in Peru for the 2010 murder of Peruvian student Stephany Flores. After the U.S. trial, he must return to Peru for the remainder of his sentence.