Fugitive Fights Extradition With New Identity

George who? Lawyers for captured American fugitive George Wright will fight his extradition to the US by arguing that he is a Portuguese citizen by the name of Luis Jorge dos Santos, reports AP. They're not claiming he isn't the murderer/robber/jail-breaker/hijacker who fled the US four decades ago, only that he became a Portuguese citizen when married a local woman in 1991 and therefore should be allowed to serve any necessary jail time in his adopted country.

"As a Portuguese citizen, if he has to answer to any authority or if he has to serve any sentence, it has to be to Portuguese authorities and in Portuguese territory," says his attorney. He adds that the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau sanctioned his new identity as dos Santos when it gave him political asylum under that name in the 1980s. Written arguments will be presented in court on Thursday. (More George Wright stories.)