Mixed-martial-arts fighter Conor McGregor is an Irish citizen. When he was in New York last year for a fight, he got in a scuffle at the Barclays Center; Brooklyn prosecutors properly charged him with three counts of assault. He eventually pleaded down to disorderly conduct.
Rapper A$AP Rocky is an American citizen. When he was in Sweden three weeks ago on tour, he was arrested on a preliminary charge of assault for an altercation on a Stockholm street. Friday, a court ordered him held for at least six more days, deeming him a flight risk.
An international uproar has since followed demanding his repatriation. Hundreds of thousands are signing a petition. Rappers are pledging to boycott the Nordic nation. President Trump wants him sprung and called the Swedish prime minister, who told Trump that the justice system is independent.
What happened on that street? Rocky says it was self-defense; he posted a video in which he and his entourage tell two men to stop following them. Another clip published by a Swedish newspaper seems to show Rocky lifting one of the men off his feet and throwing him to the ground. Yet another shows Rocky and two members of his entourage punching and kicking the man while he is down.
Sweden is not North Korea. It has a real but flawed justice system, as the United States does. Sweden should swiftly make a decision whether or not to prosecute, and ensure humane treatment for Rocky and his associates in the meantime.
If we want to be able to prosecute foreigners who break the law on our soil, we should return the favor.
