A$AP Rocky pleaded not guilty to assault charges on the first day of his trial in Sweden on Tuesday, claiming he acted in self-defence.
The Fashion Killa hitmaker, real name Rakim Mayers, is facing two years in jail over allegations he and his entourage attacked 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari on 30 June. They are accused of punching and kicking the teenager and hitting him with a bottle.
The rapper appeared in court in Stockholm to enter his not guilty plea after being detained since 2 July, while Swedish prosecutors decided whether to bring formal charges. His mother Renee Black also attended court, having flown over from the U.S.
Swedish prosecutors allege the Grammy Award-nominated musician and two other suspects "deliberately, together and in agreement" attacked the teenager after an altercation in the street, following Rocky's performance at a Swedish music festival.
A lawyer for Jafari, Magnus Stromberg, told The Associated Press last Friday that one of A$AP Rocky's guards "grabbed him by the neck and dragged him away", and that his client did nothing to provoke the assault.
However, the rapper's lawyer, Martin Persson, told Swedish public broadcaster SVT on Monday he would present the court with new evidence, showing that a bottle was not used in the fracas and that any violence used was "within the limits of the law".
Before the trial began, Sweden's Expressen newspaper revealed that Jafari has prior convictions for heroin, assault and petty theft.
Rocky's long detention before being charged sparked an outcry in America, with a number of celebrities campaigning for Rocky's release, including Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, who raised the case with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump demanded the hip-hop star be released, tweeting angrily and calling Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in a bid to get the 30-year-old freed.
However, Swedish officials rebuffed Trump's demands, and insisted that the country's politicians "cannot interfere in legal proceedings".
The trial continues.
