'Kill the Indian first' remark in Epstein files puts Norwegian diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen in spotlight

Jeffrey Epstein

Norwegian diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen is facing fresh scrutiny after an email attributed to him surfaced in documents linked to the Jeffrey Epstein case. The email has drawn outrage because it reportedly includes a racist remark about Indians, raising uncomfortable questions about how a long-serving peace and diplomacy figure spoke in private.

The current controversy is tied to the ongoing release of Epstein-related documents in US court proceedings. In an email cited in media coverage, Rød-Larsen reportedly wrote: “When you meet an Indian and a snake, kill the Indian first.” The line is widely condemned as racist and dehumanising, and its appearance has triggered strong reactions, especially from Indians and people of Indian origin abroad.

For critics, the issue is not just the offensiveness of the phrase, but what it suggests about bias in elite circles that often shape policy and global institutions. Many have also pointed out the wider reputational fallout that continues to spread as more Epstein-linked material becomes public.

Rød-Larsen is best known internationally for his role in the backchannel negotiations that helped produce the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. A sociologist by training, he later moved into senior international roles and served as a United Nations envoy in the Middle East. Over the years, he built a reputation as a behind-the-scenes operator in difficult negotiations, someone trusted to keep conversations going when public diplomacy stalled.

He later became president of the International Peace Institute, a New York based think tank focused on conflict resolution and global governance. In 2020, he resigned from that post after reports revealed the institute had received money from Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019 while in custody and had previously been convicted of sex offences. Rød-Larsen acknowledged meeting Epstein and later said it was a serious error in judgment to maintain contact after Epstein’s 2008 conviction.

So far, there is no indication of legal consequences tied specifically to the email, and Rød-Larsen has not publicly responded to the quote itself. But the backlash has been swift, and the episode is likely to shadow his legacy as the document releases continue.