Axl Rose Was 'Held For Ransom'

Axl Roses� manager has hit out at Swedish police saying the singer was �held for ransom� and mistreated by them.

Merck Mercuriadis said the police were aware Guns N Roses were on tour and threatened him with three weeks in prison at the risk of �millions of dollars.�

Axl Rose was released from custody on Tuesday morning after agreeing to pay a �3,000 fine to Stockholm�s Berns Hotel and �750 damages to the security guard he apparently bit.

An unhappy Mr Mercuriadis said �We are in the middle of a tour. The Swedish authorities were very aware of this, yet continually threatened us over a 12 hour period with between five days and three weeks incarceration without bail if Axl did not 'co-operate'."
"They were fully aware that there were millions of dollars at stake, not to mention the hopes of tens of thousands of fans who had paid for tickets to see Guns N' Roses."

As the BBC reports, he continued: "The point is, the police report should not be taken at face value, and if one were to be explicit, this experience is tantamount to being held for ransom.

"If the context were any different, Axl would probably have preferred to spend the time in jail in order to ensure that all the facts were a matter of public record."