Rapper A$AP Rocky has been found guilty of assault in Sweden, but does not have to return to jail overseas.
For five weeks ahead of the trial, Rocky was held in a Swedish detention center, drawing criticism from other artists, fans, and family in the U.S. President Donald Trump even called for his release, and earlier this month, he was able to return to the U.S. ahead of his trial. As of Wednesday, Rocky was found guilty of misdemeanor assault and has been ordered to pay more than $22,000 in restitution and legal fees to the victim. His two associates, who were also involved in the assault, will be put on informal probation.
The Swedish district Court found that additional fines or community service were not justified, since Rocky had already spent nearly five weeks in jail during the pre-trial period. Rocky and his defendants will have to pay around $1,300 to the victim and $21,000 for his legal fees.
The ruling follows a case from last month, where Rocky was accused of assaulting 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari. During his trial two weeks ago, two eyewitnesses said that they did not see Rocky use any sort of bottle as a weapon during their altercation. The court, however, came to a decision that while they believe Rocky did not act in self-defense like he claimed, he also did not deserve jail time, as the injuries Jafari sustained were not very serious and the brawl only lasted a few seconds. He was originally facing up to two years in prison.
During his time in the detention center, Tyga called for his release, cancelling his show in Sweden, as well as A$AP Ferg, who told the crowd to “keep Rocky in your prayers.” Over the weekend, Rocky made his first appearance since incarceration at the Real Street Festival in Anaheim, California, where he called the jail time a “scary, humbling experience.” He is set to headline New York City’s first edition of Rolling Loud festival this fall.