[url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/15/germany-hiv-girlband-noangels [/url]
A singer from Germany's most successful girl group has been arrested on suspicion that she infected an ex-partner with the HIV virus, prosecutors confirmed today.
Nadja Benaissa, 26, a member of the No Angels band, is accused of sleeping with three men without telling them that she was HIV positive. One is believed to have become infected as a result.
FILE - HIV Infected Singer Nadja Benaissa Held In Custody For Grievous Bodily Nadja Benaissa, of the German pop band No Angels. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
A spokesman for the state prosecutor's office in the western city of Darmstadt said in a statement: "There is urgent suspicion that in the years 2004 and 2006 the accused had unprotected sex with three people without informing them in advance that she herself was HIV positive."
The statement continued: "At least one of the three partners undertook a test which showed that he – allegedly as a result of the contact – is now also HIV positive himself."
Benaissa, who is half Moroccan, half German, beat 4,500 hopefuls to win a place in No Angels on a reality TV show in 2000. The band – Germany's answer to Girls Aloud – have sold more than five million records, including four number one singles and three number one albums. Their latest album is due to be released this summer.
Benaissa was arrested by plainclothes police at a Frankfurt nightclub on Saturday evening where she was due to give a solo concert. She was handcuffed backstage and taken away in an unmarked car.
The same evening a judge issued a custody order, due to the "risk of recidivism". She is being held in a one-person cell in a women's prison near Frankfurt.
Aids campaign groups today called the authorities' action a "modern witch-hunt" against sufferers of Aids and HIV.
The organisation German Aids Help (DAH) said while it did not want to condone Benaissa's alleged behaviour, the way in which her arrest was carried out and her HIV status was subsequently made public was unacceptable.
"This case fits fantastically into the tabloid and media landscape," said Jörg Litinschuh, spokesman for DAH. "It centres on a famous woman, sexuality and possible guilt. It's a form of modern witch-hunting and I hope it's not an indication that the politics of dealing with HIV and Aids is becoming more restrictive."
The man who is alleged to have brought the charges against Benaissa said in an interview with the newspaper Bild that he had known nothing of her illness during their affair which took place over a few weeks in 2004.
Under German law anyone convicted of knowingly infecting another person with HIV faces a prison sentence of between six months and 10 years for grievous bodily harm. If the victim dies the sentence rises to a minimum five years' imprisonment and a maximum of life imprisonment for manslaughter.
There is no case if it can be proven that the other party knew of the infection and was sober at the time. If the infected person knew nothing of the infection at the time of sexual contact there are no grounds for prosecution.
Last nightthe three other members of No Angels met for a crisis meeting. Supporters of the band, whose most famous hit was Daylight in Your Eyes, posted distraught comments on fan websites.
