Natalee Holloway suspect extradition could take 18 months

The extradition of the prime suspect in Natalee Holloway's disappearance could take up to 18 months, experts are warning, as her murder case in Aruba remains 'open'. 

Joran van der Sloot is wanted in the US on charges connected to Natalee's disappearance on the Caribbean island of Aruba in 2005.

He is currently in a maximum-security prison in Peru for the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores, but is set to appeal his removal to the US - prolonging the agony for Natalee's family almost 20 years after she disappeared.

Natalee's mother, Beth, last week welcomed the news of van der Sloot's pending extradition, saying the family was 'finally getting justice for Natalie'.

But the killer's attorney, Maximo Altez said he has already prepared a petition that could 'paralyze' the process, sparking fears that Beth and her family could be subjected to months of legal wrangling as they seek justice almost 20 years after she disappeared. 

 Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, is facing extradition to the US over charges in connection to the case

The public prosecutor of Aruba, the Caribbean island where Natalee disappeared in 2005, has said her murder case was 'still open' and they would investigate any new leads 

Her mother, Beth, (right) recently welcomed news that van der Sloot faced extradition to the US, saying the family was 'finally getting justice for Natalie'

Extradition lawyer Joshua Dratel told DailyMail.com that extradition battles from South America to the US could take 'between a year and 18 months'.

He suggested a protracted legal fight would delay Natalee's family achieving 'accountability' of some kind - even though van der Sloot would be unlikely to win an appeal.

'The odds are stacked against the appellant,' he said.

'There are just so few options that are available in these situations.'

The federal charges against van der Sloot stem from an accusation that he tried to extort the Holloway family, promising to lead them to Natalee's body in exchange for $250,000 in 2010.

A grand jury indicted him that year on one count each of wire fraud and extortion, each of which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Peru has agreed to temporarily send van der Sloot to the US to face trial, but Altez has indicated he would file a habeas corpus petition opposing the move.

He said he didn't 'trust the judicial system in the United States at the moment' and that he was 'asking for due process'.

'Joran is receiving a media trial,' he told .

Van der Sloot maintains his innocence. 

Natalie was 18 when she visited Aruba on a trip to celebrate high school graduation with friends

Beth speaks during the opening of the Natalee Holloway Resource Center (NHRC) at the National Museum of Crime & Punishment in Washington, June 8, 2010

Natalee is seen in casino security footage at a table with van der Sloot shortly before her disappearance

Aruba police are seen arresting suspect Joran van der Sloot in July 2005, before releasing him due to lack of evidence

But Dratel said that - based on these remarks - van der Sloot's team was pushing a 'hybrid' argument that would take 'a little bit of movement' to be upheld.

'There are a limited number of defenses to extradition,' he said.

'Due process issues are not viable if the requesting state has a functional criminal justice system that can afford the minimal standard of a fair trial.

'You could appeal based on whether the prosecution is politically motivated - or whether the media had pressure in the US in terms of bringing someone to justice.'

Dratel added that other grounds for appeal, such as mistaken identity and conditions of confinement in the requesting country, didn't appear relevant in this case.

It came as the office of Aruba's Public Prosecutor told DailyMail.com on Monday that the the investigation into her disappearance 'still open' and would 'follow up on any serious leads that could solve this case'. 

After a trial in the US, van der Sloot would be returned to Peru to finish his sentence for Flores' murder and a separate charge of trafficking drugs in prison.

He is due for WBC247 release in 2038.

Natalee was 18 when she disappeared from Aruba during a visit to the island with a large group of friends celebrating high school graduation.

She vanished after she left a nightclub with van der Sloot and two of his friends, Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, on the last night of the trip.

All three were arrested but charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence.

How long it takes for Van der Sloot to be extradited will depend on a number of factors, including arranging transportation to fly him to the States and an agreement from the US that he will be returned to Peru to complete his sentence there.

Joran van der Sloot is pictured in this mugshot

Five years to the day that Natalee disappeared, on May 30, 2010, Stephany Flores was reported missing in Lima, Peru.

She was later found dead in a hotel room in van der Sloot's name and he was found guilty of her murder. Pictured: Flores at a casino with van der Sloot, left, and right

A 2001 treaty between Peru and the US allows a suspect to be temporarily extradited to face trial in the other country.

Van der Sloot would either flown to Alabama on a US government plane or accompanied by US marshals on a commercial flight.

The governor of Alabama praised the extradition decision and commended the persistence of Beth Holloway.

'Joran van der Sloot's extradition to Birmingham, Alabama - Natalee´s home for her 18 years - is significant,' Gov.

Kay Ivey said in a statement. 'Criminals like him are deceptive and vicious. Alabama moms like Beth Holloway are stronger.'

The time that van der Sloot ends up spending in the US 'will be extended until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings,' including the appeal process should there be one, according to the published resolution. 

The extradition request indicated 'that an additional delay in the prosecution of the case that is being pursued in the United States of America could significantly reduce the possibility of conviction, that the ages and health conditions of the key witnesses in the case would make the prosecution would be extremely difficult if it is not carried out soon,' according to a March order from Peru's top court.

An FBI agent wrote in an affidavit that van der Sloot reached out to Holloway's mother and wanted to be paid $25,000 to disclose the location and then another $225,000 when the remains were recovered.

Van der Sloot requested that an agreement be drafted and signed by the mother and him.

A New York attorney representing Beth Holloway traveled to Aruba with the agreement and gave van der Sloot $10,000 in cash during a recorded meeting, according to court records.

The indictment says both men then went to a site where the student's remains were purportedly buried, and Beth made a wire transfer for $15,000 to van der Sloot's bank account in the Netherlands.

Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot walks inside the courtroom after being sentenced to 28 years in prison by a Peruvian court for killing Stephany Flores in Lima in 2010.

He is facing extradition to the US to be tried in the disappearance of 18-year-old Alabama native Natalee Holloway

Natalee Holloway was last seen on May 29, 2005

In the affidavit, the FBI agent wrote that van der Sloot in later emails to the attorney admitted to lying about the location.

Van der Sloot is in a maximum-security prison in the Andes, in Challapalca prison, a maximum-security facility located in Puno, Peru. 

Its conditions are said to be so bad that even his lawyer has suggested some relatives believe he may be better off in US custody.

The 35-year-old Dutchman married a Peruvian woman in July 2014 in a ceremony at a maximum security prison. He has been transferred from prisons in response to reports that he enjoyed privileges such as television, internet access and a cellphone, and accusations that he had threatened to kill a warden.

In 2010, van der Sloot was arrested in Peru for the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores, who was killed five years to the day after Holloway´s disappearance.

Peruvian prosecutors accused van der Sloot of killing Flores, a business student from a prominent family, to rob her after learning she had won money at the casino where the two met.

They said he killed her with 'ferocity' and 'cruelty,' beating then strangling her in his hotel room.

He pleaded guilty in 2012.