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US Rapper A$AP Rocky Pleads Not Guilty in Swedish Assault Case

Reuters

   STOCKHOLM - U.S. rapper A$AP Rocky pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to a
   charge of assault on the first day of a trial in Sweden that has drawn
   international attention and prompted President Donald Trump to
   intervene on the artist's behalf.

   The 30-year-old performer, producer and model, whose real name is Rakim
   Mayers, was detained on July 3 in connection with a street brawl in
   Stockholm in the early hours of June 30, and later charged with assault
   causing actual bodily harm.
   Mayers' lawyer said his client, sitting next to him in prison clothes
   of a green t-shirt and trousers, pleaded not guilty to the charge of
   assault and had acted in self defence.
   Both Mayers and the plaintiff, a 19-year-old man, will face
   cross-examination later on Tuesday.
   Mayers has said the plaintiff provoked him and two companions who have
   also been charged with assault. If convicted at Stockholm district
   court, they could face up to two years in jail.

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