Julian Assange was accused by two women of rape but has not been charged because the prosecutor says she is unable to interview him about the allegations. Photograph: FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA/EPA

Julian Assange is taking his appeal to Swedens highest court in a final attempt to persuade a Swedish judge that the arrest warrant against him should be lifted.

His lawyers will ask Swedens supreme court on Wednesday to agree that the severe limitations on Assanges freedoms since he claimed asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012 to escape extradition to Sweden are unreasonable and disproportionate to the case.

In August 2010, the WikiLeaks founder and campaigning journalist was accused by two women of rape and sexual molestation, but he has not been charged because the prosecutor insists she is unable to interview him about the allegations.

Prosecutor Marianne Ny has declined invitations by Assange to do so in London, where he has taken refuge in the embassy to avoid a perceived threat of extradition to the US for publishing military secrets. Assange denies all the charges.

In November, Stockholms appeal court rejected Assanges case, saying there was a risk he would evade legal proceedings should the detention order be lifted. The court also ruled that his confinement to the embassy was voluntary.

However, in the ruling, senior appeal court judge Nicklas Wgnert noted the deadlock in the case and criticised the prosecution for failing to move the investigation forward.

That is a heavy obligation on the prosecutor, Judge Wgnert told the Guardian after the ruling. If Assange challenges the detention order again [in the supreme court], I believe the court will consider what measures the prosecutor has taken to move the preliminary investigation forward in between now and the next challenge.

A spokesperson for the prosecutor said she would not give details about the investigation, and Per Samuelson, one of Assanges Stockholm lawyers, said he had heard nothing about any movement.

Swedish legal opinion at a senior level has swung against the prosecutors decision not to travel to London to interview Assange, with Anne Ramberg, head of the Bar Association, calling the current impasse a circus.

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Julian Assange appeals to Sweden's supreme court over ...

Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange have filed an appeal to Sweden's Supreme Court seeking to quash the 2010 warrant for his arrest on accusations of rape and molestation.

Assange's lawyer Per Samuelsson said he lodged the appeal with Sweden's top court on Wednesday afternoon to end the stand-off.

The Australian remains holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London to avoid arrest and extradition, while Swedish prosecutors refuse requests he be questioned there.

"We have to end this - the situation is completely stalled, and that's the point we raised in our appeal," Samuelsson said in criticising what he called the "total passivity" of prosecutors who he said "have done nothing in four years".

With the law requiring judges to decide if they are legally competent to accept the appeal, Samuelsson said "the Supreme Court now has the ball".

The arrest warrant was issued in 2010 by Swedish prosecutors investigating a case based on one woman accusing Assange of rape and another alleging sexual molestation.

Assange, 43, refused to return to Sweden to refute the charges he adamantly denies on fears Stockholm would extradite him to the US to be tried for his role in WikiLeaks' publication of huge stores of classified diplomatic, military and intelligence documents.

In 2012, he sought refuge in Ecuador's British embassy to avoid arrest and likely forced extradition to Sweden.

He has proposed to testify in the Swedish inquiry from inside that mission, but prosecutors insist Assange must return to Stockholm to be interviewed.

Little has evolved since then and after a lower Swedish court rejected the warrant appeal in November, Assange's lawyer took the motion to the Supreme Court.

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Assange appeals to Sweden's Supreme Court

It's easy to forget that Julian Assange is still cooped up inside London's Ecuadorian embassy. The WikiLeaks founder entered the building back in June 2012 to escape extradition and ever since, Metropolitan Police officers have been stationed outside, waiting patiently just in case he ever decides to leave. It might not sound like the most costly operation, but over the years it's racked up quite a bill for the UK government. Earlier this month the Met revealed that policing the embassy had cost an estimated 9 million up until October last year. That equates to roughly 10,500 per day --- and if you project that forward, it means the entire affair has now crossed the 10 million mark. Of course, this is all merely an approximation, but it further highlights the costs involved in the Assange affair. Last summer, the man himself revealed that he would be leaving the embassy "soon," but since then there's been no sign of his imminent departure. Unless his health or legal circumstances change, the bill for the UK government is only going to increase.

[Image Credit: AP Photo / John Stillwell, POOL]

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Monitoring Julian Assange has cost the UK government up to ...

Story highlights There's an operation guarding WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London London Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe says the operation is being reviewed, as there's "no doubt it's a drain" Assange has been in the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to answer to sex assault claims

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe says the operation is being reviewed, as there's "no doubt it's a drain."

Assange has been living in the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where prosecutors want to question him about 2010 allegations that he raped one woman and sexually molested another.

The Australian national has not been charged and denies the claims, saying he fears Sweden would extradite him to the United States, where he could face the death penalty if he is charged and convicted of publishing government secrets through WikiLeaks.

Julian Assange fled to the Ecuadorian Embassy to seek asylum in June 2012.

On the operation to prevent Assange from fleeing the embassy, Hogan-Howe told LBC Radio that Metropolitan Police were looking at "how we can do that differently in the future, because it's sucking our resources in."

Asked if that meant fewer officers stationed around the clock outside the embassy, Hogan-Howe added: "We won't talk specifically about our tactics, but we are reviewing what options we have."

The cost of providing a constant police presence ready to arrest Assange should he emerge from the embassy in Knightsbridge, central London, is estimated at 10 million pounds, a Scotland Yard spokesman told CNN.

Assange has said the extradition warrant should be thrown out because, in part, Swedish authorities refuse to interview him at the Ecuadorian Embassy, thereby prolonging a preliminary investigation that he says should have concluded long ago.

Assange rocketed to international fame when WikiLeaks began publishing secret government documents online.

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$15 million Assange security is 'sucking resources in ...

The WikiLeaks founder has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy since June 19, 2012, avoiding extradition to Sweden for questioning concerning sexual assault allegations. Ecuador has granted Assange political asylum, but he cannot get to South America because British police remain stationed around the embassy, ready to detain him if he steps outside.

The situation recently returned to the forefront when a freedom of information request from LBC Radio revealed that maintaining 24-hour guard around his hide-out has cost taxpayers $15.4 million.

"It is sucking our resources," Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe told reporters, and a review was underway of "what options we have."

For Assange, the options appear limited. If he leaves the embassy and is caught, he will be sent to Sweden. And once he is in Sweden, he could be extradited to the United States for prosecution on espionage charges related to WikiLeaks' massive release of classified U.S. military documentsand diplomatic records.

If found guilty, he could face life in prison or even the death penalty.

The statute of limitations on the rape case will expire in August 2020, but no one wants the situation to drag on unresolved for that long.

From the start, Assange's team has offered Swedish prosecutors the chance to question him in the embassy.

The move was "actively welcomed" by the British Foreign Office, but prosecutors are adamant that the interview must take place on Swedish soil.

In August, Assange cryptically told reporters that he planned to leave his hide-out soon but had no plans to hand himself in to British police. Nothing dramatic ensued.

In November, there were hints that the diplomatic logjam could clear.

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WikiLeaks' Julian Assange leads hidden, busy life in ...

Chima Simone sits down with Alex Gibney (AP Interview--UK)
Chima Simone sits down with Oscar winning documentary film director and producer, Alex Gibney, to discuss Julian Assange #39;s denouncement of "We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks," and more.

By: Chima Simone

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Chima Simone sits down with Alex Gibney (AP Interview--UK) - Video

Story highlights There's an operation guarding WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London London Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe says the operation is being reviewed, as there's "no doubt it's a drain" Assange has been in the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to answer to sex assault claims

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe says the operation is being reviewed, as there's "no doubt it's a drain."

Assange has been living in the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where prosecutors want to question him about 2010 allegations that he raped one woman and sexually molested another.

The Australian national has not been charged and denies the claims, saying he fears Sweden would extradite him to the United States, where he could face the death penalty if he is charged and convicted of publishing government secrets through WikiLeaks.

Julian Assange fled to the Ecuadorian Embassy to seek asylum in June 2012.

On the operation to prevent Assange from fleeing the embassy, Hogan-Howe told LBC Radio that Metropolitan Police were looking at "how we can do that differently in the future, because it's sucking our resources in."

Asked if that meant fewer officers stationed around the clock outside the embassy, Hogan-Howe added: "We won't talk specifically about our tactics, but we are reviewing what options we have."

The cost of providing a constant police presence ready to arrest Assange should he emerge from the embassy in Knightsbridge, central London, is estimated at 10 million pounds, a Scotland Yard spokesman told CNN.

Assange has said the extradition warrant should be thrown out because, in part, Swedish authorities refuse to interview him at the Ecuadorian Embassy, thereby prolonging a preliminary investigation that he says should have concluded long ago.

Assange rocketed to international fame when WikiLeaks began publishing secret government documents online.

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The $15M wait for Julian Assange

LONDON, UK You can do a lot with 10 million British pounds in London.

Its equal to over $15 million. Here thats a years worth of public education for roughly 1,000 kids. Or a years worth of street policing by more than 300 officers. Or just one really nice one-bedroom apartment.

Its also the amount of money the British taxpayer has spent so far keeping Metropolitan Police officers stationed 24/7 for almost three years outside the Embassy of Ecuador, on the off chance that one high-profile occupant strolls out.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been holed up in the brick building since June 20, 2012. Ecuador granted him asylum after he lost an appeal at the UK Supreme Court against extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning on sex crime allegations.

The police have orders to arrest Assange as soon as he sets foot on British soil. So every day for almost 1,000 days, officers with not much to do have stood outside the building in Londons Knightsbridge neighborhood, just across the street from Harrods department store.

There, a crystal-encrusted bottle of Robert Piguet perfume sells for 10,000 pounds just under the 10,500-pound ($16,000) daily cost of the embassys police detail.

To the best of anyones knowledge, Assange who looked like a man who hadnt seen the sun in a while, even before his asylum claim hasnt been outdoors in more than two and a half years.

Sometimes he peeks out the window, said an officer stationed in front of the building on Wednesday afternoon.

A personal trainers been around lately, the officer said. We can see him doing his boxercizing.

The Met, as Londons police force is known, is facing massive budget cuts as a result of austerity measures, as is virtually every public institution in Britain.

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UK taxpayers could buy a lot with the millions spent policing Julian Assange

Julian Assange policing costs reach 10 million
For More Latest News Subscribe us: Scotland Yard has spent about 10m providing a 24-hour guard at the Ecuadorean embassy in London since Wikileaks founder Julian Assange claimed asylum ...

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His presence in the embassy means the Metropolitan Police has been forced to post a round-the-clock detail of officers to arrest Mr Assange should he leave the building in Knightsbridge.

In August Mr Assange indicated he would soon leave the embassy but six months later he remains inside.

The total bill is thought to consist of almost 8 million in police pay and nearly 2 million in other indirect costs.

The sum would have been enough to keep 343 police officers on the beat for a year.

The Foreign Office has insisted it remains committed to reaching a diplomatic solution to this situation.

A spokesman said: We are clear that our laws must be followed and Mr Assange should be extradited to Sweden. As ever, we look to Ecuador to help bring this difficult and costly situation to an end.

Me Assange has claimed that if he is extradited to Sweden, he will be sent on to the United States for questioning over WikiLeaks publishing of secret files which the authorities say have damaged national security.

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Julian Assange is 'sucking resources' from police, Met chief says