Swedish court upholds arrest warrant against Julian Assange

The founder of Wikileaks Julian Assange has failed in his bid to have a detention order revoked.

A Swedish appeals court has upheld an arrest warrant against Assange who is wanted for questioning in a sexual assault case.

He denies the allegations and has said they are politically motivated and part of a smear campaign against him and his whistle-blowing website.

The Australian has sought refuge in Ecuador’s London embassy since June 2012 to avoid a British extradition to Sweden.

If he is sent to Sweden he says he fears charges in the US over the leaking of secret government documents.

His website was set up in 2006 and made headlines around the world four years later when it released footage showing US soldiers shooting dead 18 civilians from a helicopter in Iraq.

The leaks caused intense embarrassment to the US and other governments.