A$AP Rocky Found Guilty in Sweden Assault Case
A$AP Rocky has been found guilty of assault after he was involved in a street brawl in Stockholm.
The 30-year-old rapper will not face additional jail time, Swedish prosecutors announced on Wednesday (Aug. 14). Rocky, along with two members of his entourage, Bladimir Corniel and David Rispers, were handed suspended sentences and ordered to pay damages to the victim after the court found that the assault was not “of such a serious nature.”
In its ruling, Stockholm District Court rejected a claim that the trio had been acting in self-defense. “Based on statements from two witnesses, the court finds that the defendants were not subject to a current or imminent criminal attack,” the ruling said. “Therefore, they were not in a situation where they were entitled to use violence in self-defense. Nor could they have perceived themselves to be in such a situation.”
During the trial, Swedish public prosecutor Daniel Suneson argued that Rocky assaulted the victim with a glass bottle. However, the court decided there was too much conflicting evidence to determine conclusively if a bottle was used in the attack.
Rocky was taken into custody on July 2 after he was arrested in Stockholm following a street brawl involving 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari. He was released from detention on Aug. 2 following a high-profile trial that captured widespread attention, with Kim Kardashian-West, Justin Bieber, and even President Donald Trump calling on Swedish authorities to release the rapper.
Rocky, who was facing up to two years in prison, was not present when the verdict was announced. His lawyer Slobodan Jovicic said his client was “of course very disappointed” during a press conference.
As part of his conditional sentence, Rocky will be subject to a probationary period of two years and has been ordered to pay damages of 12,500 Swedish Krona ($1,300) to the victim “for violation of his integrity and pain and suffering.” The defendants were also ordered to pay 80,610 Swedish Krona (nearly $8,400) for the victim’s lawyer.
After arriving back in the U.S. following a month in a Swedish detention center, Rocky returned to the stage at the Real Street Festival in Anaheim, Calif. on Sunday (Aug. 11) where he thanked fans for their support. “I’m so happy to be here right now, y’all don’t even understand,” he told the crowd. “That was a scary, humbling experience, but I’m here right now.”
He also asked for their continued prayers as he awaited the verdict. “I know y’all was praying for me. I’ma need y’all to keep praying for me,” he said. “Hopefully, with God’s will, I’m not guilty and shit. I get the verdict on Wednesday, so I need y’all to keep praying for me. Hopefully we ain’t gotta go back to jail or nothing like that.”
UPDATE: Taking to Instagram, A$AP said he was “disappointed” following the guilty verdict and thanked his team and supporters. Read his full statement below.
“I AM OF COURSE DISAPPOINTED BY TODAY’S VERDICT,” he wrote. “I WANT TO SAY THANKS AGAIN TO ALL OF MY FANS, FRIENDS, AND EVERYONE WHO SHOWED ME LOVE DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME. IMMA KEEP MOVING FORWARD. THANK YOU TO MY TEAM, MY MANAGEMENT, ATTORNEYS, LABEL AND EVERYONE WHO ADVOCATED FOR JUSTICE.”