During an interview with TMZ, the Ambassador to Sweden answered a number of questions pertaining to ASAP Rocky's arrest and subsequent detention, including the racial bias that many have argued is evident and the conditions of his detention.
Karin Olofsdotter, in her conversation with TMZ Live, maintained that ASAP has not been singled out, although the other man involved in the alleged assault has not been arrested. She repeatedly told interviewers she couldn't answer certain questions about the case, but when asked about the other man's arrest, she alluded to him also being charged.
"There is a charge against that person, and if a person is to be held in custody or in remand, it depends on a lot of things," she explained. "If the sentence carries more than one year or if there's a risk of absconding, if the person hasn't presented its proper name and is not a resident of Sweden. So it all depends on the circumstances." When pressed on the question as to why ASAP was arrested and the other man was not, she gave a vague response only noting that "it depends on what charges are being pressed or how the crime is labeled."
Reports surfaced last week regarding the conditions under which ASAP is being held, and during her conversation with the outlet, Olofsdotter argued with the interviewers, Harvey Levin and Charles Latibeaudiere, over the legitimacy of those claims.
"That's also not correct," she said. "The lawyer of Mr. Meyers has come back and he's been interviewed in Swedish media saying those facts are not correct."
In regards to people of color not feeling safe traveling to Sweden on account of ASAP's arrest, the Ambassador stated that "They're more than welcome to Sweden,"and said the country is among the top 5 nations that enforce the "rule of law."
When asked if she's been in contact with U.S. officials, she confirmed that she's spoken to individuals in the State Department, in Congress, and the White House. According to Olofsdotter, the correspondences have mostly been them "trying to clarify the misunderstandings that have been portrayed in American media."
If convicted, Rocky reportedly faces a sentence of up to six years. You can listen to the full interview with the Ambassador to Sweden above.
