A Swedish court released US rapper A$AP Rocky on Friday pending the result of an assault trial that has caught the attention of US President Donald Trump and led fans to call for a boycott of Swedish brands like Ikea.
The 30-year-old rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, hugged his mother in the courtroom after the Stockholm district court's presiding judge Per Lennerbrant announced he would be freed until the verdict was delivered on August 14.
Mayers has been held in Sweden since July 3 when he was arrested following a brawl in Stockholm on June 30, which saw him and his crew embroiled in a fight with a 19-year-old plaintiff.
He and two others had been held in custody ahead of their trial because the court deemed him a "flight risk". His detention has sparked a campaign for his release by his fans and fellow artists, and has even piqued the interest of Trump, who repeatedly called for the rapper to be freed, drawing complaints of interference from Swedish politicians.
The US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Robert C. O'Brien - who was sent to attend the trial - said he spoke with Trump after the news broke that the rapper would be released.
"I just got off the phone with the president of the United States and let him know that the men were coming home and would be back in America soon. So he is quite pleased with that result," O'Brien told reporters. "The president felt they shouldn't have been detained, they were stalked."
Mayers pleaded not guilty due to self-defence and gave his own account of the brawl in court on Thursday, stressing that he felt "scared" and that he and his entourage had repeatedly told the plaintiff to leave them alone.
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