A Swedish appeals court on Thursday denied WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange 's latest request to dismiss an arrest warrant for alleged rape and molestation -- cases that he says are false and politically motivated . Assange , 43 , has been living in London 's Ecuadorian Embassy for more than two years to avoid extradition to Sweden , where prosecutors want to question him about 2010 allegations that he raped one woman and sexually molested another . Assange , who has not been charged , denies the allegations and says he fears Sweden would extradite him to the United States , where he could face the death penalty if he is charged and convicted of publishing government secrets through WikiLeaks . The Australia native has argued the warrant should be dismissed because , in part , Swedish authorities refuse to interview him at the Ecuadorian Embassy , thereby prolonging a preliminary investigation that he says should have concluded long ago . The appellate court nodded to this argument , agreeing that `` the failure of the prosecutors to examine alternative avenues is not in line with their obligation ... to move the preliminary investigation forward . '' But it concluded that , in balance , the arrest warrant must remain in effect because the crimes alleged are serious and because `` 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 , '' appellate judges wrote in Thursday 's ruling . Another appeal expected . Michael Ratner , a U.S. attorney for Assange , expressed dismay over the ruling . `` The court of appeals admits the prosecutor has wrongly failed to move this case forward , but refuses to provide Assange with any remedy . It is astonishing , '' Ratner said in a news release . Assange 's legal team has said it intends to file an appeal with Sweden 's Supreme Court . Thursday 's court decision follows a similar ruling by a lower Swedish court in July . Assange argues , in part , that the preliminary investigation has been open for an unacceptably long time , and that the arrest warrant improperly keeps him from going to Ecuador , which offered him asylum , or even from going outdoors . Police stand guard outside the embassy , ready to arrest him should he emerge . Swedish prosecutors say that Assange must be interviewed in Sweden , citing what they say are legal impediments to coercing an interview elsewhere . Prosecutor Marianne Ny has said that the warrant could remain in place until the statute of limitations takes effect -- five years for unlawful coercion and 10 years for rape . Assange rocketed to international fame when WikiLeaks began publishing secret government documents online . After it published the procedures manual for the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay in 2007 , it posted documents related to U.S. activities in Iraq and Afghanistan , and diplomatic cables from U.S. embassies . In August 2010 , Swedish prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Assange over the allegations of sexual assault from two female WikiLeaks volunteers . He turned himself in to London authorities the same year , and was remanded in custody . At the time , a judge ruled that he should be extradited to Sweden , and Assange launched a series of appeals that went all the way to the British Supreme Court . It denied his appeal . In June 2012 , Assange fled to the Ecuadorian Embassy to seek asylum , which was granted in August of the same year . He 's been living at the embassy in London since then .
Court agrees with Assange that prosecutors dragged their feet , but says warrant must stay . Court : There 's a great risk Assange will evade legal proceedings if warrant is lifted . Assange is accused of sexual assault in Sweden . He has stayed at Ecuadorian Embassy in London , says he fears ultimate extradition to U.S .