Man who claims he was attacked by A$AP Rocky demands $15,000 in damages as the rapper pleads not guilty to assault on the first day of his trial in Sweden
The man who claims A$AP Rocky attacked him in Sweden demanded almost $15,000 in damages during the first day of the rapper's assault trial Tuesday.
Mustafa Jafari, 19, asked the court to award him 139,700 Swedish korna, around $14,630, after he claims the musician and two of his friends hit, kicked and slashed him with a bottle on June 30.
Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, pleaded not guilty as he appeared in court watched his mother, Renee Black, who appeared visibly upset during the hearing.
Mayers and two friends are facing two years in jail if they are found guilty.
The trial began as Sweden's Expressen newspaper revealed that Jafari has a lengthy criminal history including prior convictions for heroin, assault and petty theft.
A$AP Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, appeared in in Stockholm District Court on Tuesday over claims he attacked 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari in the city last month (court sketch showing Mayers in green front right, and his mother sitting behind him, centre)
Mayers (pictured in a court sketch in green) pleaded not guilty to the charges, claiming he acted in self-defence after Jafari and his friend began hassling him
Renee Black, Mayer's mother, arrives at court before her son takes the stand on Tuesday
Dave Rispers Sr, father of Dave Rispers, one of the accused, was also in court for the opening day of the trial in Stockholm
Jafari (right) also claimed $15,000 in damages from Mayers (left), saying he was punched, kicked and slashed with a bottle during the brawl
Meanwhile his 20-year-old friend, who will appear as a witness in the case after police found there was not enough evidence for him to press charges, has also been in frequent trouble with the law.
The friend will be escorted into court by police because he is currently in jail accused of theft and knife crime.
The charges relate to the alleged theft of two jackets in central Stockholm on July 19.
His most recent arrest came just days after he was freed from jail for another theft - taking some sunglasses - for which he was sentenced to 21 days in jail.
Both men are originally from Afghanistan. Jafari came to Sweden as an undocumented migrant from Iran in 2015. It is not clear when his friend arrived.
Mayers and two of his friends are facing two years in jail each. Prosecutors claim they beat Jafari with their fists, feet and part of a bottle
Slobodan Jovicic, part of Meyers' legal team (rear), arrives at court where they say new evidence will be presented that shows all violence used was within the limits of the law
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Robert C. O'Brien was seen at court after the case caught international attention including from President Donald Trump
Carl Risch (centre), the US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, was also seen arriving at court on Tuesday
Mayers claims his entourage acted in self-defence after being hassled by Jafari and his friend, and that no bottle was used in the assault
Swedish prosecutors allege that the Grammy-nominated rapper and the two other suspects 'deliberately, together and in agreement' attacked Jafari in central Stockholm on June 30.
The trial will be held in a secure courtroom 'because of the large interest from the media and the public,' the Stockholm court said, noting that no photographing or filming will take place during the proceedings.
Prosecutors alleged in more than 500 pages of court documents that the three suspects beat and kicked Jafari while he was on the ground and that he was hit by parts of or a whole bottle.
Prosecutors also said that Mayers pushed Jafari to the ground and the court documents include numerous photos of Jafari's cuts, bruises and blood-stained clothes.
A video of last month's street brawl appeared to show the US rapper and his security team hurling a man to the ground and punching and kicking him (video footage pictured)
Swedish police have released pictures of injuries which Jafari says he sustained in the fight
This undated photo made available by the Swedish Police via the Swedish Court, shows an injury sustained by Mustafa Jafari, the alleged victim involved in a fight with rapper A$AP Rocky on June 30, 2019. A Swedish prosecutor on Thursday July 25, 2019 charged rapper A$AP Rocky with assault over the fight in Stockholm, in a case that has drawn the attention of fellow recording artists as well as U.S. President Donald Trump. (Swedish Police via Swedish Court via AP)
Jafari showed police the extent of his injuries from the alleged assault, in which he sustained cuts to his arms legs and face
The rapper's lawyer, Martin Persson, told Swedish public broadcaster SVT on Monday that he would present the court with new evidence, including showing that 'no bottle has been used to hit or injure anyone' and that the violence used was 'within the limits of the law.'
A lawyer for Jafari, Magnus Stromberg, told The Associated Press on Friday the beating started when one of A$AP Rocky's guards 'grabbed him (Jafari) by the neck and dragged him away' and that Jafari didn't provoke the assault.
Mayer's arrest prompted Trump to intervene on behalf of the jailed rapper and sparked an unusual diplomatic spat when Swedish prosecutors charged the 30-year-old artist last week.
The case has also drawn the attention of American celebrities like Kim Kardashian West and Mayer's fellow recording artists, including Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Justin Bieber, and created the movement #JusticeForRocky soon after the rapper's arrest.
A$AP Rocky was on Thursday charged with assault in Sweden, despite President Trump's personal plea to the Swedish Prime Minster requesting the rapper be released. Pictured: Video grabs of the fight, posted by the Grammy-nominated star
Trump claimed on Twitter that the US does 'so much for Sweden but it doesn't seem to work the other way around'
Man who claims he was attacked by A$AP Rocky demands $15,000 in damages as the rapper pleads not guilty to assault on the first day of his trial in Sweden
![Man who claims he was attacked by A$AP Rocky demands $15,000 in damages as the rapper pleads not guilty to assault on the first day of his trial in Sweden]()
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July 30, 2019
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