A Swedish court is set to consider whether an arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be repealed.
The Wikileaks founder's Swedish defence lawyers have requested that the Stockholm District Court on Wednesday repeal a November 2010 arrest warrant, issued after a Swedish prosecutor said Assange needed to be questioned in a case of alleged sexual assault in August 2010 against two women.
The Australian denies the allegations.
Assange has spent the past two years at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The South American country granted him asylum on the grounds that he fears extradition to the United States for the leaking of classified 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 for a period in British custody at the end of 2010 before being released on bail, but was ordered to report daily to police.
Assange's defence team wants the court to repeal the arrest warrant on the grounds that the prosecutor failed to act in a timely manner by failing to interview Assange at the embassy as they - and Assange - have suggested.
In written statements, the prosecution has rejected claims it was not moving fast enough and that a proposal to interview Assange at the embassy would not be "effective," since a trial would still have to take place in Sweden if charges are brought.
In addition, Assange is still considered a flight risk, the prosecution said.
Lawyers who represent the women who made the allegations have said their clients have suffered from the protracted proceedings, but want the court to uphold the arrest warrant.
