A$AP Rocky is back in court today and due to take the stand to give his account of a fight that ended with him in jail facing two years behind bars for assault.
Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, has previously claimed self defence and released a video that appears to show accuser Mustafa Jafari and a friend provoking him - but has otherwise stayed silent.
Jafari, 19, took the stand for cross-examination Thursday morning, Expressen reported, where he claimed Rocky and his entourage 'smashed me over the head with a bottle, and then ran away'.
Police arrested Mayers on June 3 and he has been in jail ever since. His mother Renee Black visited him behind bars for the first time Tuesday.
Black, who flew to Stockholm to attend the trial, visited him in detention following his court appearance on Tuesday.
The parents of Mayers's two friends, who also stand accused of assault, also visited their children behind bars.
A fourth person, a bodyguard, was initially arrested alongside Mayers but released.
Much of the trial has centred around analysing videos and whether bottles had been used as weapons during the alleged assault.
The videos include one published by US celebrity news outlet TMZ, where the rapper can be seen throwing a young man to the ground and apparently aiming several punches at him while he is down.
The court was also shown videos posted to the artist's own Instagram, purporting to show the lead up to the brawl, which the prosecution argued had been heavily edited.
Mayers' lawyer Slobodan Jovicic argued that the rapper's actions were the result of the plaintiff and his friend showing 'a threatening, aggressive and deeply provoking behaviour'.
'He admits that he threw the plaintiff on the ground, that he stepped on his arm and punched or pushed his shoulder,' Jovicic told the court, saying it was a case of 'self-defence'.
On Thursday, the trial will resume at 9:00am local time and the court will hear Mayers' own testimony. The trial is scheduled to conclude with closing arguments on Friday.
After the trial has ended the court will announce when it will be able to render a verdict and also decide whether the accused should be kept in custody in the meantime.
Mayers was remanded in custody while the case was being investigated as he was considered a 'flight risk'.
Fans, fellow artists and US Congress members have been campaigning for his release.
An online petition called #JusticeForRocky has garnered more than 640,000 signatures. Social media campaigns have urged fans to boycott Swedish brands such as IKEA.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for the rapper to be freed, drawing complaints of interference from Swedish politicians.
Robert C. O'Brien, US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, had been sent to attend the trial.
'The president asked me to come here and support these American citizens and we're working to bring them back as soon as possible,' O'Brien told AFP.
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News Photo US rapper A$AP Rocky takes the stand in Sweden assault trial
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