A court in Argentina has indicted pop star Justin Bieber for allegedly sending his bodyguards to beat up a photographer in Buenos Aires three years ago.

Court clerk Soledad Nieto confirmed the decision, saying Judge Alberto Banos did not issue an arrest warrant.

Bieber was accused of sending bodyguards to attack a photographer outside a nightclub during his 2013 South American tour.

The Canadian star apologised on the same trip for defiling the Argentine flag on stage and got into trouble with police elsewhere during the tour for allegedly spraying graffiti in Brazil and Colombia.

Bieber has never returned to Argentina to answer questions about the alleged attack.