Ashmedi from Melechesh Arrested for Assault, Placed Under House Arrest

Apparently determined to make sure that the most metal bar fight of the year doesn’t involve a sexagenarian, Melechesh’s Ashmedi got into some trouble of his own recently. The vocalist/guitarist explains:

“While on vacation in Jerusalem, I was arrested for beating up somebody in a bar fight. After 3 days in jail and a 3000 dollar bail plus 18000 dollar contingent guarantee, I was placed under house arrest for the last 7 weeks and will remain under house arrest until the court sets a date for a trial. Then the judge will decide what will happen next.

“I was having a nice night out at a friend’s bar. After several verbal provocations and then verbal death threats to me, I acted in what to me seemed self-defence and finished it. Normally, people know me, I often stop fights and buy people drinks to calm them down – this time shit hit the fan…

“Well, it was a stupid bar fight, which is not my style really, yet things got out of hand and the vacation turned into a nightmare. 3 days jail and now I am still under house arrest for the last 7 weeks until a yet unknown court date, the fortunate news however is that I will be given permission to do the Melechesh concert in Jerusalem, so I can go out for a few hours to rehearse with my guys and the next day naturally perform with Melechesh.”

It’s good that Ashmedi admits getting into a fight was a “stupid” move (hey, he said it, not me!), and it’s good that fans in Jerusalem won’t have to miss out on a good show as a result of his error. Hopefully, this resolves itself without any jail time, or future interference with Ashmedi’s freedom.