Stockholm District Court should repeal the arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and a new remand custody hearing should be held, his attorneys Thomas Olsson and Per E Samuelsson said Tuesday in a new legal challenge in the long-running case. A Swedish prosecutor requested his arrest, citing the need to question Assange over the alleged sexual assault of two women in August 2010 and that he had not been available for questioning.
The Australian national denies the allegations, his lawyers said in a 13-page writ filed Tuesday at the Stockholm District Court.
They said the Swedish prosecutor had not acted with necessary speed in the case, violating Assange's rights.
Assange has spent the past two years at the embassy of Ecuador in London. The South American country granted Assange asylum as he fears extradition to the United States. US authorities are investigating Wikileaks and its links to Chelsea Manning, who was jailed last year for 35 years for leaking secret government documents.
Prior to seeking refuge at the embassy he fought a long legal battle in Britain against extradition to Sweden, which also issued a European arrest order. Assange was held in British custody and had to report daily to police, the lawyers said.
Samuelsson told Swedish Radio the Assange case remained at an impasse since the Swedish prosecutor "refused" to go to London to question his client.
"As we understand matters, the prosecutor therefore no longer has any need for the arrest warrant," he said.
Attorney Claes Borgstrom, who represents one of the women who made the allegations, said his client still wanted justice, and suffered from the protracted proceedings.
Borgstrom said Assange could "change matters" as he himself had gone to the embassy, in what appeared to be an attempt to avoid a possible conviction in Sweden.
Samuelsson countered, saying Assange was willing to cooperate with Swedish authorities but was not willing to come to Sweden "unless he received guarantees he would not be extradited to the US."
Assange's laywers also wanted full disclosure about material the prosecutor had assembled during the preliminary investigation - in line with new rules that took effect June 1, Samuelsson said.
A Stockholm District Court official told dpa the Prosecution Authority had a week to respond to the writ
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