A Swedish court has rejected an appeal of the arrest warrant that’s kept WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange confined in Ecuador’s London Embassy for over two years.
Assange is wanted in Sweden for questioning on allegations of sexual misconduct, though no charges have been filed. He has voiced fears he would ultimately be sent for prosecution in the United States if he were to return to Sweden.
Assange’s attorneys had petitioned for the warrant to be withdrawn, arguing it cannot be enforced while Assange is in the embassy and Swedish prosecutors refuse to question him in London. But on Thursday, a Swedish appeals court rejected Assange’s challenge to a ruling against him earlier this year. In a statement, the court said it factored in that Assange is a flight risk, and that he is “suspected of crimes of a relatively serious nature.” But it also suggested prosecutors should consider questioning him in London, saying their refusal to do so “is not in line with their obligation — in the interests of everyone concerned — to move the preliminary investigation forward.”
