Rapper A$AP Rocky to face trial in Sweden on assault charge

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - U.S. rapper A$AP Rocky will be tried for assault in Sweden starting on July 30 over his alleged involvement in a street brawl in central Stockholm last month, the Swedish public prosecutor announced on Thursday.

Best known for his song “Praise the Lord”, the 30-year-old performer, producer and model, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was detained about three weeks ago following an altercation with two men on June 30.

Mayers has said he is innocent and that the men provoked him and his two companions who have also been charged with assault. If convicted, they could face up to two years in jail.

Over half a million people, including fellow artists Nicki Minaj and Post Malone, have signed an online petition calling for his release on bail.

Last week U.S. President Donald Trump urged Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to free Mayers and said he would personally vouch for his bail. Sweden does not have a bail system. Lofven has said he will not influence the rapper’s case.

Public prosecutor Daniel Suneson said he had begun criminal proceedings against Mayers and two others for suspected assault causing actual bodily harm, despite claims of self defense and provocation.

“The artist is the one who threw the victim to the ground and then, together with two other suspects, dealt him blows and kicks. A bottle was used during the assault and there are cuts on the arms and (on) the plaintiff’s ear,” Suneson told Reuters.

“Provocation is something that I, as prosecutor, must always take into account, but I still believe that what they have done constitutes a crime,” he said.

Suneson declined to say which of the suspects had wielded the bottle in the fight. Court documents described the plaintiff as a person needing a Persian translator, but did not provide any further details.

TO PLEAD NOT GUILTY

Mayers’ lawyer said the rapper would plead not guilty at the trial when it begins on Tuesday.

“Mayers is extremely marked by the time he has been detained. It is tough to be basically isolated,” lawyer Slobodan Jovicic said at a news conference.

“We have to be humble but I definitely think there are grounds for an acquittal,” he said.

Suneson said he would seek a sentence of less than 2 years. He said he had looked at evidence including text messages and video footage that has not been made public.

Before his arrest, Mayers had uploaded videos on Instagram of the alleged altercation, saying the two men had followed his team and that he had not wanted any trouble.

Mayers, also known by the pseudonym Lord Flacko, was in Stockholm to perform at the Smash hip-hop festival. His detention has forced him to cancel a dozen shows scheduled as part of his Europe tour.

Mayers shot to fame with his 2011 debut mixtape “Live.Love.A$AP”, gaining recognition as much for his experimental approach to music as for his unpredictable fashion style that made him the first person of color to front luxury brand Dior Homme.

His latest album, “Testing”, bagged the No. 4 spot on the Billboard 200 charts on its release last year.

Reporting by Esha Vaish and Johan Ahlander in Stockholm, additional reporting by Edward Baran, Helena Soderpalm and Johannes Hellstrom; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky

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source: news.abs-cbn.com

US decries Washington brawl during Turkish president's visit

WASHINGTON - The United States on Wednesday said it was voicing its "strongest possible" concern to Turkey over a street brawl that erupted between protesters and Turkish security personnel during President Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Washington.

Police said the fighting outside the Turkish ambassador's residence on Tuesday injured 11 people, including a Washington police officer, and led to two arrests for assault. At least one of those arrested was a protester.

"We are communicating our concern to the Turkish government in the strongest possible terms," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

A video posted online showed men in dark suits chasing anti-government protesters and punching and kicking them as police intervened. Two men were bloodied from head wounds as bystanders assisted dazed protesters.

Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham said at a news conference on Wednesday that police had a good idea of most of the assailants' identities and were investigating with the Secret Service and State Department.

Turkey's official Anadolu state news agency reported that protesters were chanting anti-Erdogan slogans as the president entered the residence after meeting US President Donald Trump to discuss the fight against Islamic State militants.

"Police did not heed Turkish demands to intervene," the news agency said, and Erdogan's security team and Turkish citizens moved in and "dispersed them."

The Turkish Embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

Tens of thousands of Turks have been detained as Erdogan cracked down on the press and academia following an attempted coup in 2016. Trump made no mention on Tuesday of Erdogan's record on dissent and free speech.

House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, a California Republican, called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson "to hold individuals accountable" for the attack.

In a statement, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called the violence "an affront to D.C. (District of Columbia) values and our rights as Americans."

Mehmet Tankan, 31, said he was one of a dozen protesters outside the ambassador’s residence chanting slogans condemning Erdogan for supporting Islamic extremists and opposing political rights for Turkey’s Kurds when the brawl broke out.

Seven security personnel, some of them carrying firearms, rushed up and began punching him, bruising him all over his body, Tankan said by phone.

Tankan said the violence was worse than when Erdogan visited Washington in 2016 and scuffles erupted between his security detail and demonstrators.

“The next time they could kill us easily. I’m scared now too, because I don’t know how it will affect my life here in the United States,” said Tankan, who lives in Arlington, Virginia.

(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati, Julia Harte and Ian Simpson; Writing by Ian Simpson; Editing by Richard Chang and Tom Brown)

source: news.abs-cbn.com