A$AP Rocky is found guilty of assault after brawl in Stockholm

Olivia Tobin14 August 2019

A$AP Rocky has been found guilty of assault after a brawl in Stockholm.

The artist, who was released from jail while awaiting the verdict, has been given a suspended sentence.

As well as the suspended sentence, the 30-year-old has been ordered to pay a $1,302 fine to his victim. The court also found two members of Rocky's entourage team guilty.

The court said the assault would have carried a two-month sentence but the fact the defendants had no prior convictions over the past five years and had already spent time in custody awaiting their trial meant they would not serve further time in prison or pay any fine.

Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, had claimed he acted in self-defence.

Court staff hand out the verdict to press
AFP/Getty Images

The New York native told Stockholm District Court he had tried to avoid a confrontation with two men who he said were persistently following his entourage on June 30.

He said one of the men picked a fight with one of the bodyguards, but the court has now ruled the defendants "were not in a situation" where they were entitled to self-defence and that they "assaulted the victim by hitting and kicking him".

As a result, all three defendants were convicted of assault.

A statement from the court read: "In an overall assessment, the court finds that the assault has not been of such a serious nature that a prison sentence must be chosen.

A man hands out documents, surrounded by the media
REUTERS

"The defendants are therefore sentenced to conditional sentences."

The trio's conditional sentences mean they face no prison sentence in Sweden unless they commit a similar offence in the country again.

The musician had spent nearly a month in custody before he was released ahead of a verdict. He had recently performed in California and told fans he was going through a "scary, humbling experience."

A$AP Rocky (file picture)
AFP/Getty Images

Rocky, David Rispers Jr and Bladimir Corniel had denied beating 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari outside a fast-food restaurant in the Swedish capital on June 30

The trio claimed Jafari and another man refused to leave them alone.

The case had attracted worldwide attention after US President Donald Trump called for Rocky to be freed on Twitter.

Getty Images

Mr Trump had campaigned for the Grammy-nominated rapper to be freed after he said fellow musician Kanye West had called to inform him.

Mr Trump spoke with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, offering to personally guarantee Rocky's bail, but the Swedish leader said he couldn't interfere in a legal case.

The case had also drawn the attention of celebrities, including Sean "Diddy" Combs and Justin Bieber, and a social media campaign that was pressing for the rapper's release.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in