CHANGE OF HEART

Joran van der Sloot Reverses Course, Will Fight U.S. Extradition, Lawyer Says

The Dutch citizen suspected in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway is charged in the U.S. with extortion and wire fraud.

Joran van der Sloot, the main suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, has reversed course and decided to fight his extradition from Peru to the United States. On Tuesday, Van der Sloot's attorney announced that he had changed his mind after previously signaling he would allow the extradition to proceed without a fight, according to the Associated Press. His attorney said the reversal followed a meeting between Van der Sloot, who is from the Netherlands, and Dutch diplomats. Van der Sloot, who is incarcerated in Peru for separate murder case, is charged in the U.S. with extortion and wire fraud related to the mysterious disappearance of Holloway, an 18-year-old girl from Alabama who went missing during a vacation to the island of Aruba.