A$AP Rocky Stockholm arrest: Lawyer denies reports of rapper being detained in 'inhumane' conditions
A$AP Rocky's assault case is now being monitored by the US Department of State, a department spokesperson said in a statement. The rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was on tour in Stockholm when he was arrested last week on June 30 on suspicion of assault for his alleged role in an altercation and is currently being held in pre-detention in a Swedish jail.
The June 30 incident, however, has several layers and if Rocky is convicted, he could serve six years in prison.
"We are aware of the arrest of a US citizen in Stockholm," the spokesperson said. "We take seriously our responsibility to assist US citizens abroad and are actively monitoring the situation."
Last week, the rapper was arrested after a physical altercation with an unidentified man. The video of the incident quickly became viral.
Following his arrest, TMZ reported that the conditions that Rocky was being kept in was "inhumane". The report described it saying: ' feces was hurled about and not cleaned up, wretched food and facilities that are not fit for human beings ... this according to sources with direct knowledge of Rocky's situation.' The TMZ report also stated: 'The water, we're told, is not clean and the food is not edible ... for the first 5 days A$AP Rocky ate an apple a day, and that's it.'
However, when speaking to SVT News, Rocky’s attorney Henrik Olsson Lilja refuted the "inhumane" claims of Rocky's jail conditions. He says that the food is, in fact, edible and that Rocky only eats apples because he's not hungry. In addition to this, the lawyer stressed that the 30-year-old is in common detention and that he has no restrictions, which means he can meet whomever he wants although there's a waiting period. The Swedish Prison and Probation Service also denied any "horrific" conditions concerning Rocky's detention.
According to some reports, the rapper was also allegedly barred from communicating with a US Embassy official for two days in a row – which could be a possible violation of an international treaty between the US and Sweden.
Rocky previously shared videos of the incident/altercation on his Instagram – it shows two men approaching his crew and it is evident the duo had been following them for a while now. Rocky's bodyguard can be heard saying “go that way — you following us.” Another person says, “Nobody wants to fight with you bro.”A published video showed Rocky and three of his associates throwing, punching, and kicking two younger men in the street.
But here is the thing: In videos before the altercation that were uploaded by Rocky, one can see Rocky's group repeatedly asking the alleged victims to quit following them, and one of them smashing a headphone on the head of one of Rocky's associates. “They were attacked and he made use of self-defence,” Rocky’s attorney Henrik Olsson Lilja had said.
The rapper shared these videos to his Instagram explaining his side of the story and even said he was innocent in the comments.
Since then, more than 130,000 (and counting) people have signed a Change.org petition urging Swedish officials to release A$AP Rocky, as well as his camp, from police custody. Launched on Change.org Tuesday (July 9), the petition is supported by the rest of Rocky's A$AP Mob family and colleagues like Schoolboy Q, Travis Scott, Vince Staples and Lil Yachty.