(16 Nov 2004)
1. Exterior of walkway to court building
2. Mid shot of court building
3. Fans gathered outside entrance
4. Police woman trying to maintain order
5. View of lawyers shot through door
6. Police and fans outside court
7. Papa Wemba fan's shirts emblazoned with his face
8. Papa Wemba fan showing off Papa Wemba shirt
9. Papa Wemba fan dancing and chanting
10. Papa Wemba, wearing sunglasses, leaves court building surrounded by fans and police
11. Entire group climbs staircase
12. Papa Wemba lifted up by his fans waving to cheering fans
13. Wemba carried by fans
14. Close up of Wemba
15. SOUNDBITE (French) Papa Wemba, Congolese pop star:
"This is for me a huge liberation. This puts us all back on our feet and now I'm going to dedicate myself to my work."
16. Fans leaving court entrance
STORYLINE:
A court sentenced Congolese pop star Papa Wemba to 30 months in prison on Tuesday - most of it suspended - for his involvement with an illegal immigration network.
Wemba, who spent more than three months in a French jail in 2003 before being released on bail, will not have to serve any additional prison time, said the court in the Paris suburb of Bobigny.
Prosecutors in France and Belgium had accused Wemba, one of the biggest names in African music and known as the "king of rhumba rock," of helping Congolese immigrants illegally obtain visas by passing them off as musicians working with him on European shows.
The network allegedly gave several dozen Congolese immigrants fake papers to enter France and Belgium.
Wemba maintained that people close to him had set up the network in 2001. "Everything was done using my name," he told the court last month.
Wemba's lawyer, Yves Leberquier, had argued that the singer was being made to carry too much blame.
The court sentenced Wemba to a 30-month term, with all but four suspended - handing him a lower penalty than the five-year sentence requested by prosecutors.
The singer, who was jailed in France for three and a half months between February and June 2003, will not be required to return to prison, the court said.
Wemba, whose real name is Shoungu Wembadio Pene Kikoumba, was placed under investigation in France and Belgium for forgery, obtaining false administrative documents and helping immigrants stay in the countries illegally.
Wemba rose to fame in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, during the 1970s with the band Zaiko Langa Langa, whose guitar-based fusion of Latin and African dance styles inspired a generation of African musicians.
He also was a pioneer of the "sapeur" youth culture. Marked by its dedication to extravagant fashions, it took off in Kinshasa and among Congolese communities in Europe.
With a new band, Viva La Musica, Wemba moved to Paris in the 1980s and helped popularise Congolese music beyond Africa.
He toured in the 1990s with British rock star Peter Gabriel and appears on his "Secret World Live" album.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
