Arthur Porter changes mind and will fight extradition, lawyer says

Arthur Porter has changed his mind and will now fight extradition back to Canada where he is facingfraud charges, lawyer Ricardo Bilonick Paredes says.

Minutes after he left Porter's cell Thursday, Paredes told CBC Newsthat the former CEO of Montreals McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)plans to opposeextradition from Panama.

Porter hadindicated on Wednesdaythat he did not intend to challenge the process, but his lawyer said theplan changed following consultations with his client.

"First he was not very happy, he was confused when I saw him the first time," said Paredes.

"But when you have incidents like this you start thinking that you might examine your situation and decide what is the better option."

Paredes said he will attempt to file a bond to get Porter out of jail by Tuesday. He said Porter could soon be moved to a much larger and more crowded jail.

Diplomatic mission

Porter and his wife Pamelawere arrested earlier this week at an airport hotel in Panama City.

He was wanted on an international warrant issued in February. He is facing charges of fraud and laundering the proceeds of a crime, as well as other allegations.Porter, whowas onceCanada's topspy watchdog, isaccused of being at the heart of a fraudscandal involving the $1.3-billion MUHC superhospital project in Montreal, the largest of its kind in Canada.

Paredes said Porter and his wife were on their way to Antiguaand Barbuda on a diplomatic mission to meet the leader of that country. Porter has longclaimed to be a diplomat for his native country of Sierra Leone, andhis lawyer said as a diplomat he should not have been arrested.

Paredes also said Porter is now requesting that his doctor from the Bahamas come to Panama to treat him. The 57-year-old oncologist diagnosed himself with stage 4 cancer earlier this year while living in Nassau, Bahamas, where he operated a clinic.

Porter's currentstate of health has been the subject of speculation since his arrest, and when asked how much time Porter had to live, Paredes replied, "What a better way to die than by fighting."

Lawyer smuggled drugs withNoriega

This is not the first time Paredes has made news outside of his own country.

In 1991, the former Panamanian ambassador told a U.S. Federal Court he acted as a middleman betweendeposed Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega and Colombian drug cartels in the 1980s.

Paredes, thenknown only as Ricardo Bilonick,admitted to passing millions of dollars in bribes to Noriega, in exchange for the ability to fly planes packed with tons of cocaine from Panama to the United States.The scheme was halted by U.S. agents in 1984.

His admissions were part of a plea agreement which reduced his sentence.