Jah Cure served eight years in jail. Now the reggae singer's sell-out shows face protests

A bitter row has broken out over the imminent British tour of one of the world's most acclaimed reggae stars, recently released from prison after serving eight years for raping a woman at gunpoint.

Jah Cure, the 29-year-old Jamaican Rastafarian who has been compared to Bob Marley, is drawing international attention for his heartfelt lyrics and melodies. His British tour this month is almost sold out and he is the subject of huge media attention in the US.

But women's rights groups have expressed anger at the way that Cure - real name Siccature Alc**ck - has reassumed his celebrity status just months after being released.

The Voice, the newspaper for Britain's black community, received complaints after it carried adverts for the tour. Campaigner Paulette Coombs has urged people to protest outside Cure's tour venues, while others have demanded he donates some of the millions of pounds he is expected to make from his music to rape victims' charities. 'He is able to move on with his life,' Coombs told the newspaper. 'Who cares about the young woman he raped?'

The victim, Suzanne Ferguson, who waived her anonymity to speak out after she heard Cure was due for release, told the Jamaican press last year: 'Every time there is a lot of publicity about Jah Cure, I have even more flashbacks.

'Sometimes I am so afraid to leave my house. It seems to me that entertainers are more valued than everybody else in Jamaica and, as a woman, I feel seriously undervalued.' She has claimed she was offered money by Cure's supporters to retract her claims.

But other women's groups are reluctant to join the protest. 'Jah Cure was not convicted by a jury and there were serious doubts about his conviction,' said Cristel Amiss, coordinator of the Black Women's Rape Action Project, based in north London. 'He has served eight years in prison. Those who call for a boycott of his tour are losing sight of the real issue, which is that only about 5.6 per cent of reported rapes result in a conviction. They are helping to perpetuate the myth of the rapist as a dark stranger.'

In interviews, Cure, who was released in the summer, says he wants to use his music as a form of rehabilitation. His new album True Reflections... A New Beginning was recorded behind bars.

'He's become such a conscious person, and all his lyrics are about peace and love,' a spokeswoman for his promoter told the Voice. 'Regardless of the hard times he's been through, he's seen it as God's will and he's stronger for the experience.'

Cure has already been the target of hate campaigns. Two years ago, a Jamaican radio station stopped playing his music after it received death threats. After his conviction, however, there was a groundswell of support for Cure, so called because he smokes large amounts of marijuana, which fellow reggae artists say makes him look well preserved or 'cured'.

Internet sites sprang up protesting his innocence and bearing the slogan 'Free Jah Cure'. A large number of reggae artists spoke out in his defence, with many suggesting that he was targeted by police for his Rastafarian beliefs.

Cure has declined to talk about the rape since his release, but his website insists that he wants his fans to know the two words most important to him are 'not guilty'. 'People can do their research, they know my side,' he told one interviewer.

Cure's supporters point out that no DNA evidence was obtained linking him to the crime. There are also concerns about the nature of his arrest: he was picked out by the victim on the street and was held without charge for a week.

At his trial. Ferguson told how she had memorised Cure's car licence plate, which enabled police to track him down. 'I was able to identify him because his voice was distinct. Anywhere I hear that voice, I will always remember it.'

Cure's tour promoter, Castro Brown, is no stranger to controversy. He has also promoted reggae singer Buju Banton, who has been attacked by gay rights groups. Banton's 1992 song, 'Boom Boom Bye', called for the murder of Batty Boys - Jamaican slang for gay men.