Swedish prosecutors say it is \"far-fetched\" to think that fugitive Wikileaks founder Julian Assange could be extradited to the United States if he returned to Sweden. <\/p>\n
It was the first time that Swedish prosecutors, who want to question the 43-year-old Australian on allegations of rape and sexual molestation, commented on the likelihood that he could be sent to the US. <\/p>\n
Assange refuses to return to Sweden and has been holed up since 2012 in London in the embassy of Ecuador, which granted him political asylum the same year. <\/p>\n
The US has not yet requested extradition of Assange since Sweden issued a European arrest warrant in November 2010, rendering the whole question hypothetical, the prosecutors said. <\/p>\n
\"It would seem to be a far-fetched idea that the United States would have waited since 2010 to initiate extradition proceedings with the intention of sending their request to Sweden rather than to Britain,\" they said. <\/p>\n
\"Even considering that this would be permitted under Swedish law, a decision to extradite him to the United States from Sweden would also require the agreement of Britain.\" <\/p>\n
They made the statement in a written reply to arguments made by Assange's lawyers, who have appealed a decision by a Swedish court in July this year to uphold the arrest warrant against him. <\/p>\n
The Court of Appeal in Stockholm is expected to announce its decision within the next week. <\/p>\n
If it scraps the European arrest warrant against Assange, it could mean that he would be able to leave the Ecuadoran embassy. <\/p>\n
The arrest warrant was issued to enable Swedish prosecutors to question Assange about charges brought against him by two women in their 30s. Assange denies the accusations. <\/p>\n
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