A$AP Rockyhas pleaded not guilty to assault as his high profile trial begins in Sweden.
The 30-year-old rapper, né Rakim Mayers,appeared in courton Tuesday after he was arrested in Stockholmfollowing a street altercationinvolving a 19-year-old man named Mustafa Jafari.
On Thursday, Stockholm public prosecutor Daniel Suneson announced that Rocky will be tried for “assault causing actual bodily harm.”
Two other members of Rocky’s entourage, who are also facing assault charges, pleaded not guilty.
During the first day of the trial, Suneson showed the courtroom footage of the incident, which occured on June 30, from security cameras and witnesses’ iPhones,NBC Newsreported.
“I tried to hit him, but my [punches] did not land,” Jafari said according to NBC News. He went on to allege that he was also hit over the back with a bottle, however, the defense says there is no evidence to prove that happened.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Jafari is seeking 139,00 Swedish crowns — which is around $14,500 — in damages.
If convicted, Rocky and his entourage could face two years in jail.
Speaking to PEOPLE from his office in Stockholm on Thursday, Suneson said, “Assault causing actual bodily harm can give up to two years of imprisonment. In this case, it’s not going to be on that level, however.”
Rocky’s lawyer Slobodan Jovicic stressed to the court on Tuesday that his client did not commit any crimes and explained he was only acting in self defense,CNNreported.
“Please bear in mind that A$AP Rocky is an international, very well-known artist,” Jovicic told the court, according to CNN. He added that Rocky is used to being approached, but in this case, he acted out of fear.
Jovicic did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Rocky previouslydetailed the eventsleading up to the arrest to his 10.2 million Instagram followers.
ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty
The first video the artist shared to his social media platform showed what appeared to be the beginning of the street incident that later led to the arrests.
Rocky explained the incident in the caption of the video.
“So a few drug addicts are not my fans,” he claimed. “We don’t know these guys and we didn’t want trouble, they followed us for 4 blocks, and they were slapping girls butts who passed, give me a break.”
Rocky has spent nearly a month in prison since his arrest on July 2. His case has gained national attention with PresidentDonald Trumppreviously announcing his plans to call the prime minister of Sweden to help release Rocky from jail.
Trump, 73,shared the newson Twitter, explaining he felt compelled to do something following a conversation withKanye West.
“Just spoke to @KanyeWest about his friend A$AP Rocky’s incarceration,” he tweeted on Friday. “I will be calling the very talented Prime Minister of Sweden to see what we can do about helping A$AP Rocky. So many people would like to see this quickly resolved.”
Victor Boyko/Getty
A source previously told PEOPLE that Kanye, 42, and his wife,Kim Kardashian West, hadused their connectionsto the White House to appeal to Trump amid Rocky’s arrest and legal investigation in Sweden.
The source said that Kim, 38, recently reached out to the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, on behalf of her and her husband.
“She really brought it to the forefront,” the source said. Kim had developed a relationship with Kushner due to her previous work with the White House oncriminal justice reform.
Last week, Trumpvoiced his all-caps dismayat being unable to persuade Swedish authorities to drop the assault charges against Rocky.
Using the hashtag #FreeRocky, Trumptweeted on Thursdaythat he was “very disappointed in Prime Minister Stefan Löfven for being unable to act.”
A Swedish government spokesman told Reuters they were not able to intervene in the case despite Trump’s efforts: “Sweden and Prime Minister Stefan Lofven have been very clear in the dialogue with both the White House and directly with the American president, that in Sweden everyone is equal before the law and that the government cannot interfere in legal proceedings,” the spokesman said in a text message.
A source previously told PEOPLE that Rocky had been heldin “inhumane” and “horrific” conditionsin Sweden, though officials disputed this. (TMZfirst reportedthe news.)
“Rocky is now being detained for an unknown period of time until they have a trial and he is having his legal and basic human rights ignored while being forced to live in inhumane conditions — all for acting in self-defense,” the source claimed at the time.
source: people.com
