Swedish court upholds Julian Assange arrest warrant – cnn.com

Assange's legal team immediately issued its own statement, saying it will appeal to a higher court.

He's wanted in Sweden on rape allegations, and the United Kingdom arrested him in 2010. He has said he's afraid that if he leaves the embassy, he could end up being extradited and facing the death penalty in the United States over allegations of revealing government secrets through his site, WikiLeaks.

The statement from Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny said there's still probable cause against Assange on the rape charge as well as reason to believe he will flee to avoid prosecution. Prosecutors have asked Ecuador to let them question Assange at its embassy in London, Ny said.

"The public interest in the investigation continuing is still of high importance" the statement said.

The court in Stockholm also ruled that Assange, 44, should remain detained in absentia.

"The district court finds that the interest of enabling investigation of the crime JA is suspected of by way of questioning him outweighs the intrusion or harm the detention order causes JA. There are therefore grounds for JA to remain detained in absentia," the statement said.

But Swedish prosecutors disagreed, saying Assange's stay in the embassy was not a form of detention.

Journalist Per Nyberg in Sweden and CNN's Claudia Rebaza in London contributed to this report.

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Swedish court upholds Julian Assange arrest warrant - cnn.com