Justin Bieber arrest ordered by judge in Argentinia judge for 2013 nightclub incident

An Argentine judge issued an arrest warrant for Justin Bieber.

The pop singer is accused of ordering his bodyguards to attack a photographer outside a Buenos Aires nightclub two years ago. As the singer failed to respond to a summons related to the incident, a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Judge Alberto Julio Banos order the "immediate detention" of the Canadian singer and bodyguards Hugo Alcides Hesny and Terrence Reche Smalls, according to a Guardian report.

Bieber did not return to Argentina to answer questions about the alleged attack on photographer Diego Pesoa. An email sent to the pop star's representative was not immediately responded to.

According to Argentine law, Bieber could face between one month and six years in jail if convicted on a charge of causing injuries.

The warrant did not specify if it would extend beyond Argentina.

Bieber forced to return

In comments to local station Telefe Noticias, Pesoa's lawyer implied that the warrant would force Bieber to return to the South American country.

"Now we just need to wait for the police to find him and bring him [to Argentina,]" said lawyer Matias Morla. "For us, this is a triumph against all those who said this case was a bluff and that we didn't have anything."

Last year, Argentinian authorities requested international police organisation Interpol to summon the pop singer to court in Buenos Aires. Photographer Diego Pesoa says he was "chased and beaten" after he tried to take photos of Bieber.

Assault charges in Canada from January 2014 against Bieber were dropped in the autumn.

The singer was charged after allegedly attacking a limo driver in Toronto, with local police saying that Bieber was one of six people picked up outside a nightclub in the early hours of 30 December 2013, and he then struck the driver on the back of the head "several times".

However, the charges were dropped in September after prosecutors said there was "no reasonable prospect of conviction".