The Lifeboat News: Trump scolds Swedish PM on Twitter for being "unable to act" in legal case

President Donald Trump has demanded that Sweden "give ASAP Rocky his freedom" in a series of tweets.

The musician, real name Rakim Myers, has been charged with assault causing actual bodily harm in Stockholm. He will remain in custody until a trial takes place.

Mr Trump said on Twitter that Sweden had "let our African American community down".

ASAP was arrested on 3 July following a fight that was captured on video.

Two other men who were with them at the time have also been charged with assault. The musician says that his group was being followed by a group of men and he acted in self-defence.

Donald Trump said last week that he had spoken to Swedish prime minister Stefan Lofven about ASAP's case.

However on Thursday the president wrote that he was "very disappointed" in Mr Lofven for being "unable to act" and urged him to "treat Americans fairly".

A spokesperson for Mr Lofven responded by saying that the Swedish judicial system, prosecutors and courts were independent, the government was not allowed to influence legal proceedings and "everyone is equal before the law".

Daniel Suneson, the Swedish prosecutor in charge of the case said that he had not spoken to any White House representatives or any representatives of the Swedish government while investigating the case.

He added that there was "an obvious risk that these three suspects would leave the country if they were released".

On Wednesday, the rapper's mother pleaded for the release of her son. Renee Black told Swedish newspaper Expressen that ASAP "isn't really eating properly."

Other celebrities such as Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West have also called for ASAP's release. More than 500,000, including fellow artists Nicki Minaj and Post Malone, have signed an online petition calling for the rapper to be released on bail.

The trial is due to start on 30 July.

LINK https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49122557