LIMA: Dutchman Joran van der Sloot (pix), who is serving a 28-year prison sentence for killing a Peruvian woman in 2010, has married his pregnant girlfriend.

Attorney Maximo Altez said van der Sloot wed Leidy Figueroa Uceda, 24, in a brief private ceremony inside Piedras Gordas prison on Friday.

"Joran's mother sent him a suit and shoes for the wedding," but no family members were present, Altez said.

Seeking to shoot down local media allegations, the lawyer insisted: "This is not a strategy by van der Sloot to avoid extradition to the United States."

Van der Sloot is the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of 18-year-old US college student Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island of Aruba.

In March, Peru gave the green light for van der Sloot to be extradited to the United States. But he must first serve out his Peruvian sentence, which ends in 2038.

Van der Sloot was sentenced in January 2012 after pleading guilty to murdering 21-year-old Stephany Flores on May 30, 2010. He got a two-year sentence reduction after an agreement with prosecutors.

He killed Flores in a hotel in the Miraflores district of Lima after meeting his victim in a casino, where they played poker. – AFP