A Swedish appellate court has denied WikiLeaks founder Julian Assanges bid to have his arrest warrant set aside.

On Thursday, the Svea Court of Appeal upheld a city courts decision, saying in an online statement that "Julian Assange is suspected on probable cause of crimes including rape (less serious crime) and that there is a great risk that he will evade legal proceedings or punishment."

The Australian remains wanted in Sweden for questioning relating to alleged sex offenses dating back to 2010however, Assange has not yet been formally charged with a crime. According to Assanges own September 2013 affidavit, he stated that the women he slept with specifically said they were not accusing him of rape and that police "made up the charges."

As a result of the case, Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he was granted asylum in 2012. The embassy, in turn, is constantly surrounded by London policethe city government is spending around $16,000 each day to keep an eye on Assange. He refuses to go to Sweden over fears that he will be extradited to the United States to face further potential charges relating to WikiLeaks publication of classified material.

"In the view of the Court of Appeal there is no reason to set aside the detention solely because Julian Assange is in an embassy and the detention order cannot be enforced at present for that reason," the appellate court added."When it comes to the reasons for and against detention, i.e. the assessment of proportionality that is always made when use is made of a coercive measure such as detention, the Court of Appeal considers that Julian Assanges stay at the embassy shall not count in his favour since he can himself choose to bring his stay there to an end."

However, the court also added that there was a failure of the prosecutors to examine alternative avenues is not in line with their obligation, suggesting that there may be an alternative method to questioning Assange, such as doing it at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

Last month, top British officials indicated they would be amendable to such a solution.

These are matters for the [Swedish] prosecutor to decide on, but if she wished to travel here to question Mr. Assange in the embassy in London, we would do absolutely everything to facilitate that. Indeed, we would actively welcome it, Foreign Minister Hugo Swire said in the House of Commons.

Assanges Swedish attorney, Per Samuelson, told local media that Assange would appeal the decision to the Swedish Supreme Court.

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Julian Assange’s arrest warrant still stands, Swedish ...

A Swedish appellate court has denied WikiLeaks founder Julian Assanges bid to have his arrest warrant set aside.

On Thursday, the Svea Court of Appeal upheld a city courts decision, saying in an online statement that "Julian Assange is suspected on probable cause of crimes including rape (less serious crime) and that there is a great risk that he will evade legal proceedings or punishment."

The Australian remains wanted in Sweden for questioning relating to alleged sex offenses dating back to 2010however, Assange has not yet been formally charged with a crime. According to Assanges own September 2013 affidavit, he stated that the women he slept with specifically said they were not accusing him of rape and that police "made up the charges."

As a result of the case, Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he was granted asylum in 2012. The embassy, in turn, is constantly surrounded by London policethe city government is spending around $16,000 each day to keep an eye on Assange. He refuses to go to Sweden over fears that he will be extradited to the United States to face further potential charges relating to WikiLeaks publication of classified material.

"In the view of the Court of Appeal there is no reason to set aside the detention solely because Julian Assange is in an embassy and the detention order cannot be enforced at present for that reason," the appellate court added."When it comes to the reasons for and against detention, i.e. the assessment of proportionality that is always made when use is made of a coercive measure such as detention, the Court of Appeal considers that Julian Assanges stay at the embassy shall not count in his favour since he can himself choose to bring his stay there to an end."

However, the court also added that there was a failure of the prosecutors to examine alternative avenues is not in line with their obligation, suggesting that there may be an alternative method to questioning Assange, such as doing it at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

Last month, top British officials indicated they would be amendable to such a solution.

These are matters for the [Swedish] prosecutor to decide on, but if she wished to travel here to question Mr. Assange in the embassy in London, we would do absolutely everything to facilitate that. Indeed, we would actively welcome it, Foreign Minister Hugo Swire said in the House of Commons.

Assanges Swedish attorney, Per Samuelson, told local media that Assange would appeal the decision to the Swedish Supreme Court.

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Julian Assange’s arrest warrant still stands, Swedish appeals court rules

Julian Assange speaks at a press conference in the Ecuadorian embassy in London on 18 August 2014. Photograph: Xinhua /Landov / Barcroft Media

Stockholms appeal court has rejected a demand by Julian Assanges lawyers to lift the arrest warrant against him, leaving the WikiLeaks founder still facing extradition to Sweden should he renounce his asylum in Ecuadors London embassy.

In making this assessment, account must be taken of the fact that Julian Assange is suspected of crimes of a relatively serious nature, the court said in a statement on Thursday. A Swedish prosecutor first sought Assanges arrest four years ago following sexual assault and rape allegations, which he denies.

There is a great risk that he will flee and thereby evade legal proceedings if the detention order is set aside. In the view of the court of appeal, these circumstances mean that the reasons for detention still outweigh the intrusion or other detriment entailed by the detention order.

But the court also noted that Swedens investigation into Assange had come to a halt and prosecutors failure to examine alternative avenues of investigation is not in line with their obligation in the interests of everyone concerned to move the preliminary investigation forward. The ruling is expected to put pressure on prosecutors to find new ways to break the deadlock.

Per Samuelsson, one of Assanges lawyers in Stockholm, said the courts criticism of the prosecutor was aimed at her refusal to come to London to question Assange.

This is crucial because the court said we were right in the wording, but not in the courts actual decision, he said.

After the ruling he had spoken to Assange, who was disappointed but confident that they would prevail in the long run.

Swedish and international law is on our side, Samuelsson said. The ruling shows we are on the right track, but unfortunately the court of appeal did not have the courage to overturn the arrest warrant.

Asked what he meant by the need to pursue alternative avenues of investigation, Niclas Wgnert, the appeal court judge in the case, told the TT news agency: Thats a matter for the prosecutor. One way would be to interrogate him in London.

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Julian Assange: Swedish court rejects appeal to lift arrest warrant

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has failed to have a Swedish detention order overturned but is buoyed by the fact prosecutors have been criticised for allowing their sex assault investigation to stall.

The Court of Appeal in Stockholm on Thursday refused to set aside a detention order granted in late 2010 over allegations Assange molested and raped two women.

But in the process the court noted the investigation had ground to a halt.

"The failure of the prosecutors to examine alternative avenues is not in line with their obligation - in the interests of everyone concerned - to move the preliminary investigation forward," the court said.

Assange's legal team believes that warning means prosecutor Marianne Ny will now have to travel to London to interview Assange in Ecuador's embassy.

The 43-year-old has been holed up there since August 2012 when he was granted political asylum by the South Americans.

"The pressure on the prosecutor to do something has increased," Assange's Swedish lawyer Per Samuelsson told AAP.

"The Court of Appeal, so to speak, warns the prosecutor 'If you don't go now we will cancel the custody decision the next time'.

"That's how you can interpret it."

Mr Samuelsson said the court was "cowardly" not to cancel the detention order outright but hopes the Supreme Court will act in due course.

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Assange loses appeal but gains hope

More than two years after Julian Assange sought protection at the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK, a Swedish court is still demanding he return to that country to face questioning in a sex crimes investigation.

Today a Swedish appeals court rejected Assanges request to rescind the warrant for his arrest.

In making this assessment, account must be taken of the fact that Julian Assange is suspected of crimes of a relatively serious nature, the court said in its statement today. There is a great risk that he will flee and thereby evade legal proceedings if the detention order is set aside. In the view of the court of appeal, these circumstances mean that the reasons for detention still outweigh the intrusion or other detriment entailed by the detention order.

The ruling forces Assange to remain inside the embassy or risk arrest and extradition to Sweden. But new pressures on Swedish prosecutors could force them to travel to London to interrogate him instead of requiring him to travel to Sweden. Assange has resisted going to Sweden for fear that he would face further extradition to the U.S. where a grand jury investigation is ongoing.

Last month, the UKs foreign minister threw a wrench into the matter when he announced that the British government would welcome a visit by Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny to question Assange inside the Ecuadorian embassy rather than force him to go to Sweden for questioning.

These are matters for the [Swedish] prosecutor to decide on, but if she wished to travel here to question Mr Assange in the embassy in London, we would do absolutely everything to facilitate that, UK Foreign Minister Hugo Swire said. Indeed, we would actively welcome it.

The prosecutor was taken aback by the statement and told the Guardian that she would consider the statement and respond publicly soon.

Swire insisted that his statement did not amount to a change in the UKs position. He acknowledged, however, that the UK government might not have been clear about its stance in the past.

The appeals court in Sweden noted this matter in its ruling today, saying that the prosecutor had failed to examine alternative avenues for the investigation, which is not in line with their obligationin the interests of everyone concernedto move the preliminary investigation forward.

Assange has not been charged with any crime, but prosecutors got an arrest warrant issued for him after he left Sweden while the investigation was ongoing.

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Swedish Court Rejects Julian Assange’s Appeal to Dismiss His Arrest Warrant

Movement limited: Julian Assange has remained in Ecuador's London embassy since June 2012. Photo: AFP

Julian Assange will press a further legal appeal in Sweden's highest court after his lawyers failed to have an arrest warrant issued in 2010 revoked.

A Swedish appeals court on Thursday upheld a warrant the arrest of the WikiLeaks founder who is wanted for questioning by Swedish prosecutorsabout sexual assault and rape allegations first raised in August 2010.

The Svea appeals court upheld a decision by a lower court saying there was no reason to lift the arrest order because it could not be enforced owing to Ecuador's June 2012 decision to grant the Australian citizen asylum in its London embassy.

"There is no reason to set aside thedetention solely because Julian Assange is in an embassy and the detention order cannot be enforced at present for that reason," the court said in astatement."The court of appeal considers that Julian Assange's stay at the embassy shall not count in his favour since he can himself choose to bring his stay there to an end."

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Mr Assange was granted asylum by Ecuador on the grounds that he is at risk of extradition to the United States to face possible conspiracy or other charges arising from the leaking of hundreds of thousands of secret US military and diplomatic documents by US soldier Chelsea Manning.

British police are on guard outside the embassy 24 hours a day, waiting to enforce a European arrest warrant so that Mr Assange can be extradited to Sweden.

Mr Assange's lawyers have argued that extradition to Sweden could facilitate his extradition to the US. The British and Swedish governments have declined to provide assurances that Mr Assange would not be extradited to the US.

Mr Assange has indicated his willingness to be interviewed at the Ecuadorean embassy but Swedish prosecutors have declined to take up the offer.

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Julian Assange to appeal arrest warrant decision