Amy drops drugs case appeal
2009-01-06 19:03
Oslo - British singer Amy Winehouse dropped her appeal in a Norwegian drug case and will accept a fine for illegal marijuana possession in 2007, her attorney said on Tuesday.
Winehouse and her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, were arrested during a concert stop in the western city of Bergen in October 2007 on charges of possessing seven grams of marijuana.
They were held overnight and released after paying fines of 3 000 kroner ($428).
Winehouse, 25, later appealed the fine, claiming Norwegian police made mistakes in the case.
An initial trial date in March 2008 was postponed at the request of her attorney, and Winehouse was summoned last month by the Bergen appeals court to make her case on January 12.
Fines stand
"After a careful review of the whole matter, they decided to drop the appeal," attorney Ole Kvelstad said by telephone. He refused to give reasons for the decision to withdraw the appeal.
Police Prosecutor Rudolf Christoffersen confirmed the two had withdrawn the appeals and would not have to appear in court.
"That means the fines stand," he said on the TV-2 network.
Kvelstad earlier said the payment of the fine amounted to a guilty plea, which he said could have serious consequences if Winehouse sought to enter the US.
Winehouse was denied a US visa last year when she wanted to perform at the Grammy Awards ceremony.
Winehouse, who won five Grammys at the 2008 ceremony, has had problems with drug use, run-ins with the law and a dramatic marriage.
Concerns about her health grew as the singer checked in and out of a London hospital, most recently for an allergic reaction to prescribed medication.
- AP