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Sweden to hear Julian Assange warrant appeal

Julian Assange has been sheltering in Ecuador's London embassy since June 2012
Julian Assange has been sheltering in Ecuador's London embassy since June 2012

Sweden's Supreme Court has said it would hear a legal appeal from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to overturn the arrest warrant against him.

"The Supreme Court grants leave to appeal in the matter regarding the arrest," the court said in statement.

The 43-year-old Australian has been sheltering inside Ecuador's London embassy since June 2012 to avoid a British extradition to Sweden, which wants to question him on allegations of sexual assault, which he denies.

Mr Assange says he fears that if Britain extradited him to Sweden, he would then be extradited to the United States where he could be tried for one of the largest information leaks in US history.