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Swedish court extends US rapper ASAP Rocky’s detention
STOCKHOLM, July 19, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A Stockholm court on Friday ordered
that US rapper ASAP Rocky, detained in Sweden on assault allegations, should
be kept in custody for another week while the prosecutor completes his
investigation.
“The deadline to press charges has been extended to Thursday July 25 at 11
am (0900 GMT). The suspect will until then remain in detention,” the district
court said in a statement.
The 30-year-old artist, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was arrested on
July 3 shortly after midnight after a street fight on June 30.
On July 5 the Stockholm District Court ordered that Mayers should be kept
in custody while the case was being investigated, as he was considered a
“flight risk”.
The court had given the prosecutor until July 19 to decide on whether to
press charges.
However the prosecutor requested the deadline be extended to next week as
they needed more time to complete the investigation, which the court granted.
Mayers’ lawyer Slobodan Jovicic called the court’s decision
disproportionate.
He said that it was unreasonable to assume Mayers was a “flight risk”
since not returning for a potential trial could mean that the rapper would
never be able to visit Europe again, for fear of getting arrested.
“I am very disappointed, even though this was very much expected, given
our regulations for detentions and that it’s very easy to detain someone,”
said Jovicic.
BSS/AFP/BZC/1840HRS