미 대사 "에이셉 라키의 석방 지연은 심각한 결과를 초래할 것"

에이셉 라키의 최종 공판이 오는 8월 14일로 예정된 가운데, 도널드 트럼프 대통령이 파견한 로버트 C. 오브라이언 미국 대사와 페트라 룬드 스웨덴 검찰총장이 주고 받은 서한이 화제다. 오브라이언 특사는 서한을 통해 “이 래퍼의 사건이 가능한 빨리 해결되지 않는다면, 이는 결국 부정적인 결과를 초래할 것”이라며 에이셉 라키의 석방을 강력하게 촉구하는 서한을 보냈으며, 이에 룬드 스웨덴 검찰총장은 “스웨덴 검사는 사법권에서 독립되며, 검찰총장인 본인조차 특정 사건에 혹은 담당 검사에게 어떠한 영향을 미칠 수 없으며, 그래서는 안 된다”라고 답했다.

한편, 본 사건을 두고 타일러 더 크리에이터와 스쿨보이 Q는 에이셉 라키의 석방을 지지하며, 스웨덴에 대한 보이콧을 선언했다.  로버트 C. 오브라이언 미국 대사와 페트라 룬드 스웨덴 검찰총장의 서한 전문은 아래와 같다.

Stockholm, Sweden
July 31, 2019

Prosecution Authority of the Kingdom of Sweden:

On behalf of the US. Government, I present my compliments to the Prosecution Authority of the Kingdom of Sweden and with respect to the upcoming legal proceedings in the case of detained American citizens Rakim Mayers, David Rispers, and Bladimir Corniel, the US. Government requests the following:

-Immediate humanitarian release from the current Kronoberg Remand Prison.
-Supervised detention in a local Stockholm hotel pending final disposition of the case.

I take this opportunity to remind the Prosecution Authority of the commitment by President Trump to Prime Minister Stefan Lovfen that the three Americans will remain in Sweden if granted a humanitarian release.

As Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, I stressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice officials on July 29, 2019, the government of the United States of America wants to resolve this case as soon as possible to avoid potentially negative consequences to the U.S.~Swedish bilateral relationship.

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to the Prosecution Authority of the Kingdom of Sweden the assurances of my highest consideration.

Very truly yours,

Ambassador Robert O’Brien
Special Presidential Envoy

The Prosecution Authority of Sweden,

Stockholm.

 

Ambassador Robert O’Brien
Special Presidential Envoy

Dear Mr. Ambassador

I have received Your letter and carefully taken part of Your concerns and requests regarding the American citizens and the case You are referring to.

According to the Swedish Constitution, a Swedish prosecutor is independent in his or her tasks to investigate crimes, to decide whether or not to instigate legal proceedings and to appear in court.

This means that no other prosecutor, not even I, may interfere with a specific case or try to affect the prosecutor responsible for the case in how he or she should decide or otherwise act with regard to the case.

Furthermore, when a person is charged and. the case is brought before a court, only the court can decide, during or after the trial, whether or not to release the person or decide on supervised detention.

I fully respect Your commitment in representing Your citizens but as I have explained above, I am unable to and therefore not take any action to accommodate Your requests.

Yours sincerely,

Petra Lundh
Prosecutor-General of Sweden