Justin Bieber Summoned to Argentina Court Following Assault Accusation
Justin Bieber‘s lengthy rap sheet continues to grow: The pop singer has been summoned back to Argentina after being accused of assault by a photographer.
According to The Guardian (via Argentinian news agency Télam), magistrate Facundo Cubas has sought help from international police organization Interpol in an effort to summon Bieber to an Argentinian court stemming from a November 2013 incident at a nightclub in Buenos Aires. If the singer fails to submit his personal testimony regarding the incident within 60 days, Cubas says he’ll issue an international warrant for Bieber’s arrest.
The alleged incident occurred on November 9th, 2013 at the Ink nightclub, where photographer Diego Pesoa claims to have been chased and beaten by Bieber’s bodyguards after attempting to photograph the singer. Pesoa alleges that he suffered injuries that required hospital treatment. Prosecutors have yet to file charges, but a guilty verdict brings up to a year in prison. “Bieber has to come to Argentina, and it won’t be to sing,” Pesoa’s attorney, Matias Morla, reportedly told C5N TV.
This isn’t the first assault accusation lofted at the singer and his bodyguards. In August, Bieber and bodyguard Dwayne Patterson faced a lawsuit from a photographer for assault and battery, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress following a 2013 fight on a Hawaiian beach.
That same month, he avoided DUI punishment for a January arrest for drag racing and driving under the influence. In September, Bieber was charged with dangerous driving and assault after a collision involving a minivan and ATV in Ontario.