Cantat seeks to serve sentence in France

Lawyers for French rock star Bernard Cantat, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for the beating death of his actress-girlfriend, have asked the Lithuanian Justice Ministry to let him serve the rest of his sentence in France. Cantat, lead singer of one of France's most popular bands, Noir Desir, was convicted of manslaughter in March for beating Marie Trintignant to death in a Vilnius hotel room in July 2003. The case horrified many in France, where both were well-loved stars. Mindaugas Silkauskas, deputy director of the International Law Department of the Justice Ministry, said the ministry had already asked the country's Prisons Department to draft the necessary documents needed to place Cantat under French supervision, according to the Baltic News Service. The Justice Ministry will decide if Cantat should serve his sentence in France. It's not yet clear if or when he could be sent to France.