STOCKHOLM: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Thursday lost his appeal against a Swedish arrest warrant over alleged sex crimes, the latest setback in a four-year legal battle.

The 43-year-old Australian has been holed up in Ecuador’s embassy in London for two years to avoid extradition to Sweden.

Swedish prosecutors want to question him about accusations of rape and sexual molestation brought against him by two women in their 30s when he visited the country in 2010.

He denies the allegations, and his supporters claim the case is politically-motivated.

The Swedish Court of Appeal said it rejected Assange’s appeal for a detention order issued by a Stockholm city court to be revoked.

“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 ruling said.

“Moreover, there is a great risk that he will flee and thereby evade legal proceedings if the detention order is set aside. “Assange’s lawyer said he would appeal to the Swedish Supreme Court.

The Australian was ordered “detained in absence” by a Swedish district court in 2010 and a previous application to drop the arrest warrant was dismissed in July.

A European arrest warrant has also been issued to support the Swedish move and British police have been on guard outside the Ecuador embassy in London to arrest him should he step outside.

In August, Assange said he would leave ‘soon’, amid reports that he was suffering from a heart condition and other ailments.

CAN LEAVE EMBASSY: Assange had called on Swedish prosecutors to travel to London to question him or, alternatively, to do so by video link.

The court said onThursday that prosecutors believed “interviews must take place here in Sweden in view of the nature of the crimes... and the fact that a possible trial requires him to be in Sweden,” dismissing Assange’s claim that he is effectively under house arrest.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2014