This week there were reports that Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky was being held in inhumane conditions in a Swedish jail after he was arrested for his involvement in a street brawl following his appearance at the Smash Music Festival [click here if you missed that].
Rocky denies the claims...
From SVT NYHETER
ASAP Rocky's lawyer Henrik Olsson Lilja says to SVT Kulturnyheterna that his client denies being held under inhumane conditions as reported by the American outlet TMZ.
ASAP Rocky has been held in Stockholm since July 2 and is under investigation for assault. The American news outlet TMZ has reported his conditions to be “inhumane”, which the artist denies, according to his lawyer Henrik Olsson Lilja.
“He has never spoken to TMZ or anyone outside about the conditions when he was first detained and kept in custody. He was treated then, and is treated now, correctly. However, he has experienced the conditions in custody as very plain and has perceived a smell of urine in his cell.”
For the first 72 hours, ASAP Rocky was kept in a custody cell. Since then he has been moved to a detention centre. In a written statement to Kulturnyheterna, Henrik Olsson Lilja says that ASAP Rocky has met with staff from the American consulate.
“He was lacking in appetite when he was first arrested, but he tries to eat. He was supposed to receive a visit from the American consulate at an early stage of his detainment and perceived that staff from the American embassy was not allowed to visit him. A day or so later, the visitation took place. He is not able to determine if this is in violation of the Vienna convention or not. He is not aware of the other claims made in the TMZ article.”
Meanwhile Rocky has been met with a less than sympathetic response to his plight after quotes from an old interview resurfaced where her talks about not being able to relate to issues of police brutality faced by the Black community because he "lives in Soho and Beverly Hills."
