A$AP Rocky and his entourage have escaped a return to jail in Sweden after being found guilty of assault.
The 30-year-old musician, real name Rakim Mayers, and two of his entourage were arrested on 2 July for their involvement in a street brawl with 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari in Stockholm, Sweden on 30 June. The trio was detained in jail for a month before being released from custody on 2 August.
On Wednesday, the presiding judge, Senior Judge Per Lennerbrant, issued the three men with conditional sentences for their involvement in the scuffle, and they were collectively ordered to pay Jafari $1300 (£1077) in compensation, as well as the legal costs of the prosecution.
Prosecutor Daniel Suneson called for a six-month prison sentence for the defendants, while the rapper's team argued they acted in self-defence and should be acquitted. The court found all three guilty of assault but ruled they had served adequate time for their involvement in the scuffle and would not face an additional fine.
According to a release from the Stockholm District Court, it was determined the defendants were "not subject to a current or imminent criminal attack", and therefore were "not in a situation where they were entitled to use violence in self-defence".
However, the court found flaws in Jafari's testimony too, with allegations that he was struck with a glass bottle by the defendants unfounded.
"It has not been possible to establish exactly how he received the cuts or from whom," they said of the victim's wounds.
The court ruled the assault did not warrant jail time and issued the three defendants with conditional sentences and Jafari was awarded damages for "violation of his integrity and pain and suffering", although they noted the amount was less than requested.
"The prosecutor has not been able to prove that the victim was struck in the back of the head with a bottle or that he was in any other way assaulted with bottles," commented Judge Lennerbrant. "This has affected the assessment of the seriousness of the crime."
The rapper is yet to comment on the verdict.
