Lawyers: Cancel the arrest warrant for Assange

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's lawyers in Sweden have asked a Stockholm court to withdraw a warrant for his arrest.

Assange has been in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for two years to avoid extradition to Sweden.

Sweden is looking for a 42-year-old Australian man to be questioned over rape allegations he denies. Assange fears that Sweden could extradite him to the United States, which wants to try him for publishing classified information.

Thomas Olson, one of Assange's lawyers in Sweden, says the warrant for Assange's arrest should be lifted because it cannot be executed while Assange is in the Ecuadorian embassy, ​​and the Swedish prosecutor has not considered the possibility of questioning him in London.

"Given the great impact of that fact on Assange's ability to move freely and live a normal life, we think that upholding such a decision is unreasonable," Olson told Reuters and expressed hope that the court would reverse the decision.

Great Britain has not allowed Assange to safely leave that country and go to Ecuador since June 2012, when the Australian sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.