AN African asylum-seeker serving ten years in prison for infecting three North-East women with HIV is hoping to win his freedom after blaming his victims for not taking precautions.

Lawyers acting for Feston Konzani argued the musician believed the women did not care about the risks.

And they claimed the three women should have known he could be a carrier of the HIV virus because he came from Africa, where the virus has reached epidemic proportions.

Middlesbrough-based Konzani is serving ten years after being found guilty at Teesside Crown Court of inflicting grievous bodily harm on his victims, who were aged 15, 26 and 27 at the time.

The 28-year-old was at the Court of Appeal in London for his challenge before three judges, which came on the day the Conservatives announced plans to test all immigrants for HIV before they can live in the UK.

Yesterday, Tory leader Michael Howard said checks would protect public health and the NHS. There would also be screening for TB and hepatitis.

Timothy Roberts, for Konzani, said the convictions were unsafe because of two legal errors.

Konzani was ''deprived of the opportunity of having the jury consider his mental culpability for his actions because the trial judge did not leave that issue to them''.

Mr Roberts also said the directions given by the trial judge on the issue of consent - whether the complainants consented to a risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease - were unduly restrictive. He said the directions were so restrictive the jury had "little option but to convict".

Although Konzani's relationships with the women continued for some time, he said they started very suddenly and in a "very ill-advised way", with each of the women consenting to have sex within two days.

One woman was very well-educated, also of African descent, who would have known the extent of the HIV virus in that continent, said Mr Roberts.

Konzani, he said, was "self-evidently an African" and the HIV epidemic there was well known.

Although one of the women said "I hope you haven't got any diseases" after first having sex with him, Mr Roberts said Konzani "genuinely believed she didn't care about the risk".

The offences were carried out in the Middlesbrough area between November 2000 and August 2003.

Konzani is to be deported to Malawi once he finishes his sentence.

The judges reserved their decision to a later date