page_title: ASAP Rocky
section_title: Assault in Sweden
hierarchical_section_title: ASAP Rocky / Legal incidents / Assault in Sweden
caption_attribution_description: Svenska: Max vid Hötorget
context_page_description: Rakim Athelaston Nakache Mayers, known professionally as ASAP Rocky, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, model, actor, and music video director. He is a member of the hip hop collective A$AP Mob, from which he adopted his moniker.
  Rocky released his debut mixtape Live. Love. A$AP in 2011 to critical acclaim. The success of his mixtape led to a record deal with Polo Grounds Music, RCA Records, and Sony Music Entertainment. His debut studio album Long. Live. A$AP was also well received by critics and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and its hit single "Fuckin' Problems" was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 2014 Grammy Awards. In 2015, Rocky released his second album titled At. Long. Last. A$AP. The album was Rocky's second consecutive album to debut at number one the Billboard 200 and received mostly positive reviews from music critics. In 2018, he released his third album Testing.
context_section_description: In July 2019, Mayers was arrested initially for aggravated, then for simple assault in Stockholm, Sweden, after an altercation in the street against Mustafa Jafari and another person that involved Mayers and three of his entourage on June 30. Jafari was beaten, kicked, and cut with broken bottles when down on the ground. He suffered several cuts, requiring stitches, and a fractured rib. Mayers uploaded two videos of the incident to Instagram. In the first, he and his entourage repeatedly ask two young men, including Jafari, to stop following them as the latter complains about his headphones. In the other, created from footage of assorted events, Jafari's headphones break during a scuffle, and he is seen hitting Mayers' bodyguard with them. A woman is also seen in the video, accusing the two men of groping. Both Aftonbladet and TMZ have also published videos showing part of the scuffle. Mayers published an edited video on Instagram where some things had been removed. In the unedited video, a bodyguard can be seen lifting the victim as well as a voice saying "Now we gotta fuck this ..." and Mayers saying "Go somewhere, you are going to get fucked up". Surveillance footage shows the initial contact where the bodyguard attacked Jafari. Henrik Olsson Lilja, the defense attorney for Mayers, maintained that his client acted in self-defense after being attacked by Jafari.
  Following the altercation, Jafari was taken by ambulance to a hospital. Mayers' bodyguard filed a counter-complaint against Jafari, and Jafari was initially suspected of harassment and minor assault or possibly attempted assault. The investigation against Jafari was dropped as prosecutors said he acted in self-defense, after being grabbed by the neck and pushed by the bodyguard. Mayers was arrested after being allowed to finish his gig at Stadion. As it was judged there was a risk that he may flee or tamper with evidence, he was kept in custody at Kronoberg Remand Prison until the trial, with two members of his entourage also under arrest. Mayers' ongoing tour was then put on hiatus due to the trial. If he was found "not guilty", he could have reportedly been compensated more than $2 million.
  He was visited by personnel from the US embassy shortly after his arrest. Several US artists called for a boycott of Sweden due to the incident. A petition to release him was started. Though there were initial reports by TMZ claiming Mayers was being held in inhumane conditions, based on "a source close to Rocky", Mayers denied those reports through his Swedish lawyer. The alleged "inedible" food included turkey, veal, and rhubarb pie with custard. Mayers' attorney Henrik Lilja also refuted the claims, stating that his client "has been treated correctly." The family asked Al Sharpton for help. US President Donald Trump tweeted his support for Rocky's release. Former US ambassador to Sweden Mark Brzezinski suggested that the government should intervene and speculated that racism may have been the cause of the brawl. Foreign minister Margot Wallström said the government is not allowed to interfere citing Chapter 11 §3 of the Swedish constitutional Instrument of Government which explicitly forbids the interference of politicians, or unrelated government offices, in the work of the courts of law. Ove Bring, professor emeritus in international law and former international law adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented that he found it strange that an ambassador does not understand the concept of separation of powers. Fredrik Wersäll, former Prosecutor-General of Sweden, also expressed surprise.
  According to Dennis Martinsson, a criminal law professor in Sweden, keeping the suspect in detention is normal in this type of case. He also said in mid-July that the case would likely end in prosecution. The police conducted a search of the hotel room of Mayers' manager. Mayers hired a new defense lawyer. In a move that was highly unusual in Swedish criminal history, his US management hired a PR firm. On July 19, the prosecutor asked for an extension until July 25 to finish t
caption: Max Hamburgers at Hötorget where the first contact was made. The victim's headphones were retrieved from the awning on the left in the picture.
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