U.S. rapper ASAP Rocky is to remain in pre-trial detention in Sweden after the country’s top court on Monday rejected his appeal, Swedish media reports.
The 30-year-old, whose given name is Rakim Mayers, was on Friday placed in pre-trial detention, following his arrest last week after performing in the Swedish capital.
He is to be held in custody until July 19, the deadline for the prosecutor to bring charges at the latest, the Stockholm district court said Friday after a closed door hearing.
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the U.S. star’s appeal, which sought to overturn a previous court decision placing him in pre-trial detention, Stockholm daily Aftonbladet reported.
The Supreme Court considers only cases that are important as a means to establish a precedent that may provide guidance for lower courts.
Rocky’s arrest was linked to a June 30 incident in central Stockholm in a Video clips posted by the rapper on Instagram and entertainment website TMZ show the rapper and his team being followed by two young men, and a subsequent altercation on a street.
The rapper and members of his team are heard urging the men to leave.
One of the young men appeared to hit one of the rapper’s team with a pair of headphones and other images showed how one of the young men was later thrown to the ground and beaten.
Rocky’s attorney Henrik Olsson Lilja argued that it was a case of self-defence.
Two other men in the rapper’s team were also placed in pre-trial detention.
ASAP Rocky, whose hits include “Praise the Lord,’’ is on tour in Europe and has been forced to cancel several concerts. (dpa/NAN)