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Van der Sloot files complaint against police

By the CNN Wire Staff
Joran van der Sloot says he's being jailed in Peru in violation of his rights.
Joran van der Sloot says he's being jailed in Peru in violation of his rights.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Joran van der Sloot says his constitutional rights were violated
  • NEW: He says the translator "imposed" on him has confused him
  • Legality of van der Sloot's incarceration to be decided
  • He also seeks to have his confession struck down

Lima, Peru (CNN) -- Joran van der Sloot has filed a complaint with Peruvian police claiming that his constitutional rights and his right to a defense were violated after his arrest in connection with the killing of a Peruvian woman.

According to a copy of the complaint, obtained by CNN, van der Sloot alleges that his right to due process was denied.

The complaint, given to the Peruvian National Police's internal investigation unit, singles out the department's homicide director, Col. Miguel Angel Canlla Ore, and those who work for him.

Van der Sloot said he has been detained without a judicial order.

"I have been denied my right to a proper defense, by imposing an attorney that seems to be the girlfriend of a cop on duty who works in this police department," the complaint states.

He also alleges that police took his laptop and searched his communications and correspondence without a judicial order.

"I have been imposed an unofficial translator whom has confused me, with the intention of pressuring me to incriminate myself in the homicide investigation," the complaint states.

The document follows a similar complaint that van der Sloot made to a judge earlier this week.

Meanwhile, a judge was expected decide on the legality of van der Sloot's incarceration Wednesday, his lawyer said.

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If the ruling is unfavorable, attorney Maximo Altez said he is prepared to appeal to the highest court.

Peruvian authorities have charged van der Sloot with murder in the death of 21-year-old Stephany Flores. He also is the lead suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba.

Van der Sloot was arrested twice in connection with Holloway's disappearance in Aruba but was never charged because of lack of evidence.

A court document obtained by CNN shows Flores had a cranial fracture and other significant injuries to her face and neck and showed signs of asphyxiation. Forensic luminol tests in the hotel room where her body was found showed blood on the floors, hallway and mattress, the document said.

Altez has maintained that the judge in the case should strike down van der Sloot's confession because he was not properly represented when he was interrogated. But Peruvian police have defended the interrogation, saying that van der Sloot's confession was acquired legally.

According to transcripts of his confession, van der Sloot said he elbowed Flores in the face before strangling her and then suffocating her with his shirt. The transcripts were provided to CNN by a police source who has not been named because he was not authorized to pass along the material.

Van der Sloot told authorities he attacked Flores on May 30 after she read an e-mail on his computer connected with the Holloway case. After killing Flores, police say, van der Sloot took money and bank cards from her wallet and fled to Chile, where he was arrested on June 3.

He was returned the next day to Peru.

Van der Sloot is being held in a high-security area of the Miguel Castro Castro prison where only two of 10 cells are occupied, and he has no contact with inmates in the general prison population. He is under guard 24 hours a day, authorities have said.

CNN's Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report.