THAT'S A RAP
ASAP Rocky guilty of assault in Sweden street fight but DODGES prison as judge gives him suspended sentence in his absence
ASAP Rocky has been found guilty of assault during a street brawl in Stockholm.
The US rapper, 30, real name Rakim Mayers, swerved a two-year jail sentence and was handed a suspended sentence.
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He did not return to Sweden for the sentencing after his release from jail on August 2 having been in custody for nearly a monnth.
Prosecutors had been demanding a six-month jail sentence over the assault in the Swedish capital on July 3.
The musician was arrested on suspicion of assault after a video emerged appearing to show him throwing a "pest" to the ground.
Rocky, as well as others, claimed their actions were in self-defence and had pleaded not guilty.
Two members of ASAP Rocky's entourage, Bladimir Corniel and David Rispers, were found guilty of the same charge.
The court said in a statement: "The assault has not been of such a serious nature that a prison sentence must be chosen.
"The defendants are therefore sentenced to conditional sentences."
It added though: "[They] assaulted the victim by hitting and kicking him as he lay on the ground.
"The artist has also thrown the victim to the ground and stepped on his arm."
The judges said Rocky and his friends "were not in a situation where they were entitled to self-defence".
Rocky is said to have thrown Mustafa Jafari, 19, to the ground, after which he and two of his entourage kicked and punched the teenager.
In his testimony, Mr Jafari said he was also hit on the head with a bottle after he followed Mayers' group to retrieve his headphones.
The prosecution claimed A$AP hurled the bottle at the alleged victim, despite witnesses' claims to the contrary.
The judges said the prosecutors did not prove the bottle was used to hit the victim.
Rocky and the other co-defendants will have to pay the victim compensation and cover the court costs.
The case hit international headlines after Donald Trump weighed in on the US's rapper's jail treatment.
The US President had asked the Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to help free the rapper.
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But Sweden's judiciary is independent of the political system and Mr Lofven said he would not influence the case.
Rocky's lawyer Slobodan Jovicic said he was "disappointed" by the decision, saying he had hoped for a "complete acquittal".
Jovicic said it was too early to say whether the ruling from the Stockholm District Court will be appealed.
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Rapper A$AP Rocky arrested over mass brawl in Sweden as video shows star was peacemaking before entourage battered man unconscious
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