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Trump: I have had ”a very good call with Stefan Löfven”

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U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday that he has had a ”very good conversation” with Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, concerning the fate of the detained American rapper ASAP Rocky. Löfven later confirmed that the conversation took place.

After a hearing on Friday the judge determined that ASAP Rocky will remain in custody for another week, granting a request from the prosecutor who asked for additional time to investigate the alleged assault. The suspected crime took place on June 30th after a concert in Sweden.

Trump offered to bail out artist

Around the world fans and colleagues of ASAP Rocky alike have demanded his release from detention. The list includes Donald Trump who has vowed to call Swedish PM Löfven in order to ”see what they can do to help ASAP Rocky”.

Trump later added that the call was made, in which he ”offered to personally vouch for his bail”.

Opening his tweet with ”Just had a very good call with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven,” Trump goes on to say that Löfven has assured him that ASAP Rocky will be given a fair treatment. The tweet was posted at 4 PM, Swedish local time.

”Likewise, I assured him that A$AP was not a flight risk and offered to personally vouch for his bail, or an alternative....” Donald Trump stated.

A Press Secretary for Stefan Löfven confirms to SVT Nyheter that the call has taken place. According to President Trump, they agreed to talk again ”within the next 48 hours.”

There is no bail system in Sweden

Swedish observers were quick to identify a snag in the proposition. Sweden does not have a system like the American one, which allows a detained person to post bail to ensure, or at least increase, the incentives for a later court appearance. No such financial guarantees exist within the Swedish system, and the court decides either to detain or to not detain a suspect.

Dennis Martinsson, Senior Lecturer in Legal Science at Stockholm University, says to SVT:

– Sweden lacks a bail system and there is nothing that could be considered equivalent to a bail system.

In your opinion, has there been any misunderstanding of the Swedish judicial system in this case?

– There have been a lot of misunderstandings about how the judicial system works in Sweden, Mr Martinsson says and continues:

– Also, there seems to be a belief that Swedish politicians, such as the Prime Minister, could get involved in the case. In fact, the Swedish constitution strictly forbids Swedish ministers to even state anything that could concern an individual case.

– In my opinion, the standard procedure has been applied in the case of ASAP Rocky. The case has been treated according to the applicable rules in Sweden.

ASAP Rocky's detention has been prolonged until Thursday, July 25th, as the district court shares the prosecutor's view that there is a risk that ASAP Rocky may leave the country if he is released. A lawyer for ASAP Rocky has stated that the artist considers his predicament to be an unfair one.

Fight captured on tape

ASAP Rocky was arrested in early July after an episode that took place two days earlier. The fight was captured on video, and the rapper has published several clips in order to publically argue the case for his innocence.

In addition to ASAP Rocky, two additional people were arrested as suspects in the assault. Their detention was also prolonged on Friday.

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