Swedish prosecutors said Tuesday they are opposed to repealing an arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, complicating his efforts to end a nearly two-year stay in a London embassy to avoid arrest.
Assange’s lawyers had recently requested the warrant be dropped. It was issued after a Swedish prosecutor said she needed to question Assange in a case of alleged sexual assault against two women in August 2010.
In its seven-page reply to the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm, the prosecution cited that suspicions against Assange remained, as well as the risk of flight.
The defence is seeking to overturn a July decision by a Stockholm District Court judge that the warrant should remain in place for Assange, 43, who has lived for the past two years in the Ecuadorean embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden.
The Australian national, who denies the allegations, fled to the embassy after he lost a long legal battle in Britain against extradition to Sweden.
Prosecutors said Tuesday they still saw no value in interviewing Assange at the embassy, as this would not be “effective,” since a possible trial would still have to take place in Sweden if charges are brought.
The prosecution further said there was no need for an oral hearing as the court record from the July hearing and other documents were sufficient for the appeal court’s deliberations.
Officials at the Svea Court of Appeal said a decision on how the court would proceed was expected later this week.
Ecuador has granted Assange asylum because he said he fears extradition to the United States because of WikiLeaks revelations.
US authorities are investigating WikiLeaks and its links to Chelsea Manning, the US soldier jailed last year for 35 years for leaking secret government documents.
GNA
