New York rapper A$AP Rocky is reportedly being held in inhumane conditions in a Swedish jail. He is being kept in a filthy cell in a “disease ridden” environment that is not fit for humans, according to sources with knowledge of the situation that spoke with TMZ.
A$AP Rocky (whose birth name is Rakim Mayers) is said to be sleeping on a yoga mat with no blanket, and he is being served “wretched food” and water that is not clean. According to the sources, the food and water were so bad that A$AP Rocky ate only one apple a day during his first five days in the cell.
Rocky’s cell is reportedly next to another inmate apparently suffering severe mental health issues. The inmate hits his head against the wall and throws feces around the place and the feces are not cleaned up.
Why is A$AP Rocky in Swedish police custody?
Rocky is reportedly being held by Swedish police while prosecutors review available evidence to determine whether to charge him for aggravated assault. He is being held after a court determined that he was a flight risk. But Rocky’s lawyer Henrik Olsson Lilja said he only engaged the young men in self-defense
A video uploaded by TMZ shows A$AP and his crew in a fight on the streets of central Stockholm. Their opponents had complained that one of Rocky’s companions broke their headphones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfzXwBFXFts
Part of the video shows Rocky and the young men arguing, and efforts by Rocky and his companions to avoid a confrontation. They ask the two young men to stop following them several times but the young men keep following them even after English-speaking individuals intervene and try to dissuade them.
One of the young men says repeatedly, “I want my headphone.” But one of A$AP Rocky’s companions — apparently his bodyguard — claims that the headphone was smashed when the young man attacked him and he tried to fend off the attack.
Later, Rocky and his companions attack the young man.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzax42UnxN0/?utm_source=ig_embed
A$AP reportedly voluntarily gave himself up to the police, and was immediately arrested and kept in solitary confinement “with no visit or phone call privileges.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzjMA64nAEy/
TMZ reports that the Swedish authorities did not allow officials from the U.S. Consulate to see Rocky for two days, and when they eventually allowed them, it was in the presence of Swedish guards, so he was unable to have a private conversation with the U.S. officials.
According to multiple sources, the actions of the Swedish authorities violate Rocky’s rights under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), a treaty signed by the U.S. and Sweden which allows Rocky the right to meet with a U.S. Consulate official.
Rocky’s representatives are reportedly trying to get the U.S. State Department to intervene in the case. Meanwhile, the rapper has missed multiple scheduled performances across Europe.
He could be facing up to six years in jail if convicted of aggravated assault.
A$AP Rocky’s rapper colleagues and fans have started a social media campaign to free him.
no more sweden for me, ever
— Tyler, The Creator (@tylerthecreator) July 8, 2019
I’m not goin nomo eitHer… #FLACKO https://t.co/oL0BUAjLIz
— ScHoolboy Q (@ScHoolboyQ) July 8, 2019
Shocked by the incident, some rappers including Tyler the Creator and Schoolboy Q have taken to social media to say they would never go to Sweden to perform again.