Lisbon Court Places US Fugitive Under House Arrest

LISBON, Portugal — A court has allowed captured American fugitive George Wright -- convicted of a Wall Township murder -- to leave jail and stay at his Portuguese home while he fights extradition to the U.S., the Associated Press reported Friday.

A judge hearing the case released Wright from custody on condition he stays at his home near Lisbon and wears an electronic tag that monitors his movements, lawyer Manuel Luis Ferreira told the AP.

Wright spent seven years in prison before escaping in 1970, and was on the run for 41 years until his arrest in Portugal almost three weeks ago. Wright had been held in a Lisbon jail since he was caught.

"He can't leave the house and he can't speak about the case to anyone," Ferreira told the AP.

Under Portuguese law, court proceedings and police investigations are confidential.

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