A$AP Rocky has been convicted of assault and given a suspended sentence for the altercation that took place in Stockholm, Sweden on June 30.
According to CNN, the artist and two members of his entourage (David Rispers and Bladimir Corniel) were given the same verdict on Wednesday (Aug. 14) after a week of deliberations. Despite claims and video evidence of self-defense from the rapper and his crew, the court found Rocky, born Rakim Mayers, liable of assault against 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari.
“The defendants have claimed that they acted 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 Stockholm District Court said in its ruling. “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.”
The Swedish prosecution was reportedly planning to give the rapper a six-month jail sentence for Rocky on the assault charges, but his suspended sentence will come with probation instead. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the rapper will also be required to pay a fine of 139,700 Swedish krona ($14,634) in damages.
On Sunday (Aug 11), Rocky addressed the case during a performance at a music festival in California, his first appearance since he was released from jail.
“Hopefully we won’t have to go back to jail or nothing like that, that would be crazy,” he told the audience at the Real Street Festival. “It was an unfortunate event and I’m just trying to stay blessed.”
The case drew the attention of the music industry with his collaborators and friends like A$AP Ferg, Miguel, Rihanna, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Justin Bieber calling for his release. The movement #JusticeForRocky also sparked an online petition.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7t7XBnmWcp51ku6bD0micp6yVp8Gitc2mnKesX5ausXnRqJqksV2bvLa6w2aerqGcqcZuu8VmmKyrkaq5tXnIp2Ssr5WZsq95lW9nb2hiZA%3D%3D