German singer Nadja Benaissa to stand trial in HIV case

A singer from the German girl band No Angels is to go on trial, accused of failing to inform several sexual partners she was HIV-positive.

Nadja Benaissa, 28, faces charges in the German city of Darmstadt of grievous bodily harm and attempted bodily harm. The singer was arrested in Frankfurt last year, shortly before she was due to perform a solo concert.

Ms Benaissa and her defence lawyer have so far refused to comment on the case.However, last November the star appeared at an Aids charity gala in Berlin and openly declared: "My name is Nadja Benaissa, I'm 27 years old, I have a daughter - and I'm
HIV-positive."

If convicted, Ms Benaissa faces a prison sentence ranging from six months to 10 years.

Aids campaigners were critical of the authorities' handling of the arrest and warned against a rush to criminalise the transmission of HIV, the BBC's Tristana Moore reports from Berlin.

A former lover, who is HIV-positive, says Ms Benaissa infected him in 2004 and is due to appear in court in Darmstadt as a co-claimant.

No Angels were formed in 2000 on the international TV show Popstars, before recording a series of hits and emerging as Germany's most successful girl band.

They re-formed in 2007 and competed in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing 23rd.