Jailed singer allowed hospital birth

Gloria Trevi is accused of corrupting a minor

Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi will be transferred from her prison cell to hospital to give birth to her mystery child.

The singer - dubbed the Mexican Madonna - has been held in a Brazilian jail for nearly two years awaiting extradition back to her country on charges of sexual abuse.

Her lawyers have been arguing the case for Ms Trevi to stay in Brazil on the grounds that her life will be in danger if she is sent back.

But after several failed attempts to block her extradition, authorities were dumbfounded to learn she had become pregnant inside jail.

Trevi was jailed at the beginning of 2000

She claims to have been raped by a policeman in prison, while there has been speculation she was artificially inseminated by a prisoner.

The police maintain she deliberately became pregnant in another attempt to avoid extradition.

In the past, foreigners could avoid extradition by having a child in Brazil but the law has changed.

Refugee status

Now a judge has ruled Ms Trevi, who is eight months pregnant, can be admitted to hospital for the final stages.

A spokesman for the health secretary said she could be moved straight away to a hospital in central Brasilia.

Ms Trevi has scored two legal victories in recent weeks after a court decided to overturn a ruling that she had no right to refugee status.

Despite Brazil's refugee council's initial ruling, her lawyers successfully argued she is in danger because politicians want her silenced before she makes allegations about local corruption.

Gloria Trevi rose to fame in the 1980s after her provocative stage shows

Ms Trevi, who is known for her provocative stage shows, has been held in Brazil since she, her manager Sergio Andrade and choreographer Maria Raquenel Portillo were charged in Mexico with corrupting a 17-year-old girl.

The girl's parents had put her into Mr Andrade's care for musical training. The singer's request for political asylum has been turned down and now it is up to Brazil's Supreme Court to decide whether she will be extradited to Mexico.