Chilean authorities on Thursday said they were proceeding with the extradition to France of a man accused of murdering his Japanese girlfriend in that country in late 2016, capping a years-long court battle in the South American nation.

The Supreme Court authorized Chilean national Nicolas Zepeda’s extradition in mid-May. He is alleged by French prosecutors to have murdered his ex-girlfriend Narumi Kurosaki, a 21-year-old student at the time, in the French city of Besançon.

Antonio Segovia, director of Extraditions for the Chilean National Prosecutor’s Office, said French law enforcement officers would assume responsibility for Zepeda.

“What remains now is for the French authorities to proceed with the trial of Nicolás Zepeda,” Segovia said in a statement.

Kurosaki’s body has not been found. According to Chilean media reports, the couple met in late 2014 in Japan, where Zepeda was living as an exchange student.

Reuters

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