Rapper A$AP Rocky has been found guilty of assault in a court Stockholm, Sweden but will avoid further jail time, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, already served a month in a Sweden detention center and therefore doesn’t have to serve any more, per the ruling.
Mayers was taken into custody on July 3 for “assault causing actual bodily harm” against 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari in Stockholm on June 30. The rapper claimed self-defense and pleaded not guilty. According to him, Jafari harassed his entourage multiple times and threw a punch at his bodyguard before the physical altercation.
At the beginning of August, the court ruled that Mayers and his associates could await the verdict of the trial in the United States.
The case gained international attention, including from President Donald Trump. Trump inserted himself in the drama at the urging of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West, advocating for Mayers’ release over social media multiple times. He tasked Mike O’Brien, a lawyer with the U.S. government, to monitor the situation. O’Brien wrote in a letter to the Swedish government during the trial that warned of “negative consequences” for American-Swedish relations in the event Mayers wasn’t released. Swedish officials, however, would not intervene, siding with the rule of law.
Lawyer for Mayers, Slobodan Jovicic, was “disappointed” in the verdict, the AP reports. He was hoping for a “complete acquittal.”
According to NBC News, prosecutors asked the court to sentence Mayers to six months in jail, but the judge said they failed to prove a case for such a consequence. Mayers and his associates were ordered to pay 12,500 Swedish krona (approximately $1,300) to the victim.
Related content:
- A$AP Rocky freed from Swedish custody ahead of assault trial ruling
- A$AP Rocky pleads not guilty to assault as trial begins in Sweden
- A$AP Rocky charged with assault in Sweden
