(NEW YORK) – Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the 2005 mysterious disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway, on Monday refused to sign the permit that would allow his extradition to the United States, his attorney told ABC News .
Van der Sloot plans to appeal his extradition to the US, said Maximo Altez, his attorney. An appeal hearing is expected to take place on Tuesday or Thursday, he added.
This process could slow down if van der Sloot is extradited to the US, but it is unclear how much this action will delay his extradition.
A spokesman for the National Penitentiary Institute of Peru had previously said van der Sloot would likely be extradited to the United States on Thursday evening.
Van der Sloot left Challapalca prison in Peru on Saturday to be transferred to another prison in Lima, where he awaits extradition to the United States
The Dutch national is serving a 28-year sentence in Peru for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old student Stephany Flores.
US Department of Justice officials confirm that Peru has granted “temporary surrender” under Article X of an existing extradition treaty between the two countries. The ministry did not comment on the timing of his move, citing security concerns.
In the US, van der Sloot faces racketeering and wire fraud charges as he is accused of trying to profit from his connection to the Holloway case.
Holloway, 18, went missing in Aruba in May 2005 while on a high school graduation trip. She was last seen driving away with a group of young men, including then 17-year-old van der Sloot.
Van der Sloot, who was arrested as a suspect in the teen’s disappearance and later released, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Alabama in 2010 on alleged attempts to blackmail Holloway’s family.
Federal prosecutors alleged that van der Sloot contacted Holloway’s mother, Beth Holloway, through her attorney in March 2010, claiming he would reveal the location of the teen’s body in exchange for $250,000, with $25,000 paid up front . During a recorded undercover operation, Beth Holloway’s attorney, John Q. Kelly, met with van der Sloot at an Aruba hotel and gave him $10,000 in cash, while Beth Holloway wired $15,000 into van der Sloot’s bank account, according to prosecutors .
Then van der Sloot allegedly changed his story about the night he was with Natalee Holloway, according to prosecutors. Van der Sloot claimed he picked her up, but she demanded that she be put down and threw her on the ground. He said her head struck a rock and she was killed instantly by the impact, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said van der Sloot subsequently took Kelly to a house and alleges his now-deceased father buried Natalee Holloway’s body in the building’s foundation.
Kelly later emailed van der Sloot that prosecutors said the information he provided was “worthless.” Within days, van der Sloot left Aruba for Peru.
ABC News’ Jack Date and Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.
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