A$AP Rocky Charged With Assault In Sweden

After nearly three weeks behind bars, A$AP Rocky has officially been charged with assault in Sweden.

The 30-year-old rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was detained on July 3 over his alleged involvement in a street brawl in Stockholm. He was in Sweden to headline Smash x Stadion, a two-day hip-hop festival in the country’s capital.

Rocky was charged with assault causing actual bodily harm and faces a maximum of two years in prison or a fine based on his daily earnings. Two members of his entourage are also facing trial. According to TMZ, they will not be charged with aggravated assault, a more serious crime which carries a six-year prison sentence.

Rocky will remain in custody until his trail begins next Tuesday, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement. The public prosecutor recommends that three days be set aside for the hearing.

“I have today commenced criminal proceedings against the three individuals suspected of assault causing actual bodily harm, having come to the conclusion that the events in question constitute a crime and despite claims of self-defense and provocation,” Stockholm public prosecutor Daniel Suneson said in a statement.

Rocky is accused of assaulting Mustafa Jafari in Stockholm on June 30 after an altercation in the street that was captured on camera. Rocky’s lawyer, Slobodan Jovicic, has maintained that Rocky and his associates were acting in self-defense after being provoked by two young men.

Videos of the encounter show Rocky and members of his entourage arguing with the men over a pair of headphones, and one video shows the rapper appear to kick and punch one of the men on the ground. Rocky posted footage that shows Jafari and another man following and harassing him, despite being asked to stop. The prosecutor claims Jafari had been punched, kicked, and struck with a glass bottle during the attack.