Say it aint so!

[Meriem_DZ 37]

This is my favorite Algerian singer. What a bizarre story.

Link

Cheb Mami says he is persecuted because he is a successful Arab

Rai star jailed for abortion bid A French court has jailed the Algerian singer Cheb Mami for five years fo abducting a former partner and forcing her to undergo an attempted abortion.

Cheb Mami, whose real name is Mohammed Khalifati, was found guilty at a trial in Bobigny, a Parisian suburb.

He had denied the charges, telling the court that he had been "manipulated" by his entourage.

The singer is credited with bringing Algeria's popular Rai folk music to an international audience.

The maximum sentence was 10 years and the prosecution had asked for seven.

Prosecutors had said that Cheb Mami was one of a group who abducted and beat the woman, a French photographer, in the Algerian capital, Algiers, in 2005.

Still pregnant

They said she came to Algeria believing she was on a business trip, a few days after telling Cheb Mami, 42, that she was pregnant.

She said that she was drugged and taken to a villa in Algiers. There, three people tried to perform an abortion.

On her return to France, she discovered she was still pregnant and later gave birth to a daughter, now aged three.

France issued an international arrest warrant for Cheb Mami after he skipped bail in Paris in May 2007 and fled to Algeria.

He returned to Paris on Monday, saying he wanted to attend the trial, and was arrested at Orly airport.

He had denied involvement in the attempted abortion and said he was being persecuted because he was a successful Arab star.

The star showed no emotion as the verdict was read out.

But during the trial he had expressed remorse and asked for the woman's forgiveness.

He broke down in tears and admitted making a "serious mistake" but said he did not love the woman and felt "trapped" when she told him she was pregnant.

Cheb Mami blamed his former manager Michel Lecorre - also known as Michel Levy - saying he was behind the plot.

"I was in a panic and I agreed," he said. "I did nothing to stop him."

Michel Lecorre was sentenced to four years for plotting and organising the assault.

The court also issued arrest warrants for two of the singer's aides, Hicham Lazaar and Abdelkader Lallali.

They were convicted in absentia of involvement in the case and were sentenced to three and six years in jail respectively.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

For the woman who endured this and the unwanted child that will know this story.

[Ihavequestions 419]

Five years in jail is the very least he deserves.

"He had denied involvement in the attempted abortion and said he was being persecuted because he was a successful Arab star."

What an a$$.

[ya hayat alby ♥ 0]

OMG! That is so horrible... he deserves worse than that!

[Meriem_DZ 37]

I agree the jail time is nothing compared to what that poor woman went through. And it's a miracle that the baby survived it all.

Cheb Mami and Sting, Desert Rose.

[Henna Rose 0]

That's one of my favorite songs

[CasandraYounes 0]

OMG he deserves more than what he is getting. I cannot believe the baby survived.

[SaadBell 0]

That is awful, but he is hottttttttttttttttttttttttttt with Sting who is also a hottie, so glad to see my husband soon

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

The video for that song is one of my favorites. The whole situation is so sad.

[bhajishah 4]

prob soo, youd be surprised the things people try to hide in a restricted society,

[caybee 21]

He has always been one of my husband's favorites, and he came to be one of mine also, but this has turned us both off. It's easy to overlook or at least forgive some things, but kidnapping, drugging, beating, and forced abortion are too horrific. I hope the woman and her child can recover from this, and I hope Mami will learn from this and find a way to try to make amends.

[Sandrila 1]

WOW! Wait till I tell my husband