MIAMI, Aug 24 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday denied former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega's request for a speedy return home when his long U.S. prison term for drug trafficking and racketeering ends next month.

Noriega's defense attorneys argued in federal court earlier this month that his designation as a "prisoner of war" after his arrest during the U.S. invasion of Panama more than 17 years ago entitled him to immediate repatriation after his scheduled release from a Florida prison on Sept. 9.

But senior U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler said protections awarded Noriega as a war prisoner under the Geneva Conventions placed no restrictions on his possible extradition to a third country such as France, where he faces up to 10 years in prison on various money-laundering charges.

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