A$AP Rocky’s representative John Terzian said the rapper was suffering from “mistreatment” at the hands of Swedish authorities, and called on US President Donald Trump to intervene.
In an statement to the Daily Caller, Terzian lamented that A$AP Rocky was “being held in solitary confinement despite overwhelming evidence that he was acting in self-defence” and urged social media users to stand up for the artist.
“If we have learned anything over the last three years, it’s that President Trump will not stand for Americans being mistreated by a foreign government. His strong leadership is needed now more than ever. If this can happen to A$AP, it can happen to any American,” the representative said.
The ‘Praise the Lord’ hit-maker was detained on 2 July after his set at a Stockholm festival. Footage emerged of the rapper and his entourage fighting a pair of men, with Rocky throwing a man to the ground as his crew kicked and punched him.
However, the 30-year-old musician, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, later posted an Instagram video showing that prior to the brawl, the two men kept following him in the street, and one of them appeared to hit Mayers’ bodyguard with a set of headphones.
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The guard is later filmed explaining to a passer-by: “He hit me with the headphones, he cut me on my head – I could really beat the s**t out of him, I don’t even know him, he’s following us. Tell him to leave us alone.”
Mayers is heard saying: “Look, just for the cameras, we don’t want no problems with these boys. They keep following us. Look at them. They keep following”.
The musician’s manager, John Ehman, has launched an online petition demanding that Rocky be released. Ehman maintains that Mayers and his crew were acting in self-defence and states that the rapper was placed in “inhumane conditions”, echoing claims in US media about a “disease-ridden” prison with “inedible” food.
Rocky’s lawyer, however, said that his client was being treated “correctly”. The governor of the prison where Rocky is being held also said that the facility had been renovated in the last few years, and all cells were in "good condition".
The rapper has one more week of pre-trial detention. If found guilty of aggravated assault, he may face up to six years in jail.
