diff --git a/src/plugins/http/gfal_http_plugin.cpp b/src/plugins/http/gfal_http_plugin.cpp
index 790f891a..1582f55e 100644
--- a/src/plugins/http/gfal_http_plugin.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/http/gfal_http_plugin.cpp
@@ -527,8 +527,11 @@ static int davix2errno(StatusCode::Code code)
 
 void davix2gliberr(const DavixError* daverr, GError** err)
 {
+
+    std::string error_string= g_utf8_validate(daverr->getErrMsg().c_str(), daverr->getErrMsg().length(),NULL) ? 
+	daverr->getErrMsg().c_str(): "Error string contains not UTF8 chars";
     gfal2_set_error(err, http_plugin_domain, davix2errno(daverr->getStatus()), __func__,
-              "%s", daverr->getErrMsg().c_str());
+              "%s", error_string.c_str());
 }