Rapper pleads not guilty in assault trial

HELSINKI — American rapper A$AP Rocky pleaded not guilty as he went on trial for assault in Sweden on Tuesday.

The artist, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, has spent nearly a month in jail and his legal troubles have caught the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Mayers and two men, thought to be members of his entourage, are accused of beating a 19-yearold man in Stockholm on June 30.

Wearing sweatpants and a green T-shirt in court, Mayers, 30, pleaded not guilty to assault charges that carry a maximum penalty of two years in prison. He said he acted in self-defence during a street fight.

On the trial’s opening day, prosecutors showed CCTV footage and other video, including footage in which Mayers was seen throwing a young man to the ground.

They said 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari and a friend had got into an argument with the rapper and one of his bodyguards beforehand near a fast-foot restaurant.

Mayers also published videos on his Instagram account that showed him repeatedly pleading with Jafari and his friend to stop following him and his entourage.

His mother, Renee Black, attended the proceedings. She has said she was convinced her son was not guilty “This is a nightmare,” Black said when the trial broke for lunch.

Prosecutors alleged in court documents that the three suspects beat and kicked Jafari while he was on the ground and that he was hit with a bottle. The court file includes photos of Jafari’s cuts, bruises and bloodstained clothes.

Mayers’ lawyer, Martin Persson, told Swedish public broadcaster SVT on Monday that he would present the court with new evidence, including showing that “no bottle has been used to hit or injure anyone” and that any physical violence was “within the limits of the law.”

Jafari is seeking 139,700 Swedish krona (about $19,200 Cdn) in damages.

Mayers’ detention prompted Trump to intervene on his behalf. The president vouched for Mayers not being a flight risk and offered to guarantee his bail, which Sweden does not have.

Trump urged Sweden on Twitter to “treat Americans fairly” and criticized Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven “for being unable to act” to get Mayers released from jail.

“We do so much for Sweden but it doesn’t seem to work the other way around,” Trump wrote.