Justin Bieber Indicted In Argentina For Beating & Robbery Of Photographer

The incident occurred outside of a nightclub in Buenos Aires, where Bieber had been for a tour date. Bieber’s top bodyguards beat up a photographer who was trying to get close to their client, and they are also accused of stealing his camera gear. The photographer pressed charges and alleged that the attack was carried out under direct orders from boss Bieber.

A judge ordered him to appear back in the country in order to give testimony, but Bieber never showed. An arrest warrant was issued in April 2015 and then withdrawn a couple of months later. The charges remained, though, and almost a year and a half later, Bieber has now been indicted for robbery causing minor injuries. The indictment means that he will be arrested if he sets foot in Argentina. The charge carries with it a maximum sentence of six years.

In the three years since the incident, Bieber has maintained that the photographer’s allegations are bogus and that the judge who has overseen the case this whole time is out to get him — perhaps for publicity’s sake.

Bieber has already assembled his lawyers in order to appeal the indictment. As Bieber is about to set out on his South American tour, the indictment means he will not be able to hold a show in Argentina, unless his lawyers are able to fight the appeal in an expedient manner. After two dates in Mexico, Bieber will begin covering the South American continent on March 23, 2017, with the first show in Santiago, Chile.

Unfortunately for Biebs, Argentina — home to the most Beliebers in South America — is a bigger market for him than anywhere else on the continent. A source close to the Canadian artist thinks that the Buenos Aires judge is not just affecting Bieber’s tour revenue but is also harming the economy of his own country,  “The judge is screwing his own country because Justin could infuse a huge amount of money into the economy.”