Dutch officials are advising Joran van der Sloot to fight his scheduled transfer from Peru to the United States, where he's facing federal charges relating to an alleged extortion plot, according to his lawyer.
Van der Sloot is the prime suspect in the May 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba during a Mountain Brook High School, Alabama, senior trip.
According to a report from De Telegraaf, a Dutch news outlet, Maximo Altez, van der Sloot's lawyer, said officials from the Dutch embassy in Peru saw his client on Monday and advised him to fight the upcoming transfer to the United States in court.
The lawyer also said van der Sloot hasn't signed his emergency passport.
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT'S LAWYER TO FILE HABEAS CORPUS PETITION IN ATTEMPT TO STOP TRANSFER TO USA
Altez confirmed to Fox News Digital that he made the comments to the Dutch news outlet.
In a comment to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that "We cannot go into individual matters."
"The Netherlands cannot interfere in the local legal process of another country. We provide consular assistance, including visits, to all Dutch nationals in foreign detention who wish to do so," the spokesperson said.
Altez filed a habeas corpus petition against the Peruvian government on Tuesday in an attempt to stop the transfer.
The petition states that van der Sloot wasn't notified by Peruvian officials of the "temporary extradition" process that was ongoing against him, which Altez contends is a "serious constitutional violation."
The lawyer told Fox News Digital that the Peruvian court has 24 hours to respond to the petition from when it was filed.
According to Col. Carlos López Aeda, the chief of Interpol in Lima, Peru, van der Sloot was set to be temporarily transferred to the United States on Thursday by the FBI.
The Dutch national is facing charges of extortion and wire fraud in the United States after he allegedly tried to sell Beth Holloway, Natalee's mother, information regarding the location of her daughter's body. The Peruvian government ruled in early May that he would be temporarily transferred to the United States to face those charges, then returned to the United States when he's sentenced.
Federal prosecutors say van der Sloot asked for $250,000 — $25,000 upfront for the information and the rest to be paid out when the body of Natalee Holloway was positively identified.
However, van der Sloot lied to Beth Holloway's lawyer, John Q. Kelly, about where her daughter's remains were located, according to American prosecutors.
Van der Sloot is currently in a Peruvian prison for the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores in 2010. Van der Sloot was originally sentenced to 28 years in prison for the killing, but more time was added on because of a drug smuggling scandal he was involved in while in jail.
Natalee Holloway's body was never found. In January 2012, van der Sloot pleaded guilty to killing Flores, and Natalee Holloway was legally declared dead that month.
He's currently being held at the Ancón 1 Prison in Lima until his transfer to the United States, which is expected to happen on Thursday.
"He is already admitted to the Ancón 1 Prison in Lima awaiting his next transfer to the USA," López Aeda said.
In a statement shared with Fox News Digital when the transfer of van der Sloot was announced, Beth Holloway, Natalee's mother, said that this gives a chance for justice to finally be served.
"I was blessed to have had Natalee in my life for 18 years, and as of this month, I have been without her for exactly 18 years. She would be 36 years old now," Beth Holloway said. "It has been a very long and painful journey, but the persistence of many is going to pay off. Together, we are finally getting justice for Natalee," Beth Holloway said.
