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US Rapper A$AP Rocky to Testify in Assault Trial

Reuters

   STOCKHOLM - U.S. rapper A$AP Rocky is expected to give testimony in a
   Swedish court Thursday on the second day of his assault trial after he
   and two of his entourage were accused of punching and kicking a
   teenager.

   The 30-year-old performer, producer and model, whose real name is Rakim
   Mayers, pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault causing actual bodily
   harm on the first day of the trial Tuesday. His lawyer told the court
   he acted in self-defense.

   Mayers was detained July 3 in connection with a brawl outside a
   hamburger restaurant in Stockholm June 30 and later charged with
   assault.

   On Tuesday, prosecutor Daniel Suneson showed video from security
   cameras and witnesses' mobile phones and said following an altercation
   Mayers threw 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari to the ground, after which he
   and two of his entourage kicked and punched him.

   The prosecutor said a bottle was used to hit Jafari, who suffered cuts
   and bruises.

   Jafari told the court he was pushed and grabbed by the neck by Mayers'
   bodyguard outside the restaurant and followed the rapper's group to get
   back his headphones. He said he was then hit on the head with a bottle
   and kicked and punched while on the ground.

   If convicted, the accused could face up to two years in jail.