During his European Tour, A$AP Rocky got into an altercation in Stockholm leading to his arrest.
Swedish authorities will be holding Rakim Mayers in custody for a total of two weeks as they investigate, effectively disrupting his tour. But the evidence doesn’t quite add up to Sweden’s reaction.
Why is A$AP still locked up?
What We Know Happened
Videos of the altercation have been shared across social media by unknown Reddit users as well as Flacko himself. The videos in full show two unidentified people following, harassing and eventually assaulting Rocky’s crew.
The videos also depict Flacko defending himself in turn by attacking the unidentified people. This is what authorities saw:
https://twitter.com/raeesahikleriya/status/1146445039738019840
But peep how the original assailants started the altercation:
View this post on Instagram
Part of Flacko’s crew included Bladi and Thoto, who were also arrested by Swedish authorities.
in new york they wouldve got smoked on sight, we tried sparing them dumb niggas
— Bladi (@FuckAtNames) July 2, 2019
Sweden stays playin’ games
Based on the available evidence, it seems pretty clear cut that Rocky was defending himself so why are the Swedish authorities playin’ games?
Swedish courts claim that they’re detaining Rocky because they believe he is a flight risk. Swedish authorities also denied a U.S. official from meeting with Rocky after his arrest.
According to the Vienna Convention for Consular Relations-a treaty signed by both the U.S. and Sweden- when a U.S. citizen is arrested in Sweden, the foreigner has a right to immediately see an official from the U.S. Consulate.
The denial may have to do with the reported inhumane conditions that A$AP Rocky is being subject to during his detention.
According to reports from TMZ, the facility is “disease-ridden” due to filthy conditions, has dirty water and inedible food, and there are days old feces everywhere hurled by a nearby prisoner with mental health struggles.
Flacko, who is held in solitary confinement is also forced to sleep on a yoga mat without any blankets and has been eating only an apple a day since his detention.
After pressure from Rocky’s team, the U.S. official was granted a meeting with the NY Rapper but only in the presence of two Swedish guards, making a private conversation impossible.
Despite Rocky’s team being released due to insufficient evidence, Swedish courts have ruled to keep the rapper in custody while investigating the assault charge.
#FreeFlacko
In the meantime, support has been growing for the wrongly detained Harlem rapper.
Fans and peers alike have taken to social media to voice their support with #FreeRocky and #FreeFlacko trending on Twitter and the gram. Some artists have vowed to not tour or even visit Sweden because of their treatment of Flacko.
Free Flacko
— Jaden (@jaden) July 5, 2019
Tyler, The Creator was one of the first to start rejecting future Swedish vists.
no more sweden for me, ever
— T (@tylerthecreator) July 8, 2019
Several artists followed suit, including ScHoolboy Q, Lil Yachty, EarthGang, and Juicy J.
I’m not goin nomo eitHer… #FLACKO https://t.co/oL0BUAjLIz
— ScHoolboy Q (@ScHoolboyQ) July 8, 2019
Me 3 will never hit Sweden again… #freeflacko https://t.co/LRXoxGJtM9
— C.V Thomas (@lilyachty) July 8, 2019
FreeFlacko!!!!!
— EARTHGANG #GHETTOGODS OUT NOW! (@EarthGang) July 7, 2019
Praying for my brother ASAP Rocky pic.twitter.com/q01Fns3jPb
— juicy j (@therealjuicyj) July 5, 2019
#JusticeforRocky
If the court convicts, A$AP Rocky is looking at 6 years imprisonment. Rocky’s crew is working on getting the State dept. involved in order to free the NY rapper.
Sign the petition to get A$AP Rocky released.