German pop singer confesses at HIV trial

A POP star has broken down in tears after admitting keeping her HIV positive status a secret from three lovers.
At the start of her trial for causing grievous bodily harm, 28-year-old German Nadja Benaissa said: "I am so sorry."

She appeared in court in Darmstadt, near Frankfurt, dressed in a purple shirt, jeans and with her hair tied back and denied intending to infect anyone with the virus that causes AIDS.

Benaissa, a member of the all-female pop group No Angels, was arrested last April and spent 10 days in custody before being released.

In February, she was charged with causing bodily harm and attempting to cause bodily harm. If convicted, she faces between six months and 10 years in prison.

According to the charge sheet, she had unprotected sex on five occasions between 2000 and 2004 with three people and did not tell them she was infected, even though she had known since 1999.

"It looks as though she infected one of them. That is what we believe," prosecutor Gerd Neuber said.
This man, who was not yet named, was due to appear as a plaintiff in the trial.

Before her arrest, the fact that Benaissa, who is half Moroccan, was HIV positive was not publicly known.

When she was charged, the news was leaked to the press, sparking a debate about trial by media in a country that is highly sensitive about privacy and the presumption of innocence.

The other three members of No Angels were among around 20 witnesses due to testify in the trial, which was being held in a youth court because the first alleged incident took place in 2000, when Benaissa was 17.

In a television interview in July 2009, the singer - who also said she was addicted to crack cocaine when she was 14 - talked about living with being HIV positive.

"I can't just go anywhere I like and be free and be a normal person. I now have this stamp. I will do my best to make the most of it," she said.
A verdict is due on August 26.