A$AP Rocky Pleads Not Guilty To Assault Charges, As Trial Begins

ASAP Rocky

A$AP Rocky Pleads Not Guilty To Assault Charges, As Trial Begins

A$AP Rocky (real name Rakim Mayers) entered a not guilty plea to an assault charge as his trial got underway Tuesday in Sweden. The 30-year-old rapper is claiming self defense. Two other members of his entourage were also facing charges in the case.

A$AP’s mother was in attendance. Swedish prosecutors allege that A$AP and the two other suspects “deliberately, together and in agreement” attacked the alleged victim, Mustafa Jafari, in central Stockholm on June 30.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of two years in prison. A$AP has been in custody since July 3.

Prosecutors alleged that the three suspects beat and kicked Jafari while he was on the ground and that he was hit by parts of or a whole bottle.

A$AP posted videos to his own Instagram account prior to his arrest, showing himself and other members of his entourage repeatedly telling two men, including Jafari, to leave him and his friends alone and to stop following them.

 

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Meanwhile, another video shows Rocky and thrown one of the men to the ground and then punch and kick him several times, along with other members of his group.

Prosecutors have photos of Jafari’s cuts, bruises and blood-stained clothes as part of their evidence.

The rapper’s lawyer, Martin Persson, told Swedish public broadcaster SVT on Monday that he would present the court with new evidence, including showing that “no bottle has been used to hit or injure anyone” and that the violence used was “within the limits of the law.”

A lawyer for Jafari, Magnus Stromberg, told The Associated Press last Friday that the beating started when one of A$AP Rocky’s guards “grabbed him (Jafari) by the neck and dragged him away” and that Jafari didn’t provoke the assault.

The case has drawn the attention of President Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian and other American celebrities and politicians. Story developing.

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Authored by: TJB Writer