Catch me if you can?
WikiLeaks' founder, Julian Assange could be hunted down after Sweden's chief prosecutor asked for a court order to detain the internet luminary who faces accusations of sexual assault and rape.
He was accused of raping a woman in Stockholm in the summer but the charge was later dropped. However, he is still suspected of assaulting another woman in a different Swedish town, which Assange has also denied.
According to The Guardian, Assange could be detained if an international arrest warrant is ordered to bring in the Australian who has recently said he is effectively in hiding and frequently changes his location and phone.
Sweden's director of public prosecution, Marianne Ny reportedly said in a statement: "I request the court detain Assange in his absence on suspicion of rape, sexual assault and coercion."
It is thought she made the request (which will shortly be considered by the judge) as investigators have so far been unable to bring Assange in for questioning.
"The reason for my request is that we need to interrogate him. So far, we have not been able to meet with him to accomplish the interrogation," she reportedly said.
However, Assange's lawyers are said to claim that he had offered to meet Swedish investigators either at a police station in the UK or the Swedish Embassy.
To add to the confusion, a warrant for his arrest was reportedly issued in August but dropped within just 24 hours after prosecutors reconsidered whether the accusations would stick. After the case was re-opened again at the end of that month, Assange claimed he was questioned by Swedish police.
Perhaps ironically given WikiLeaks' role, there are not many details of the case in the public domain, although a police report is said to suggest that Assange met both women in connection with a seminar he was giving in Stockholm in August and the woman are believed to have filed their complaints together 6 days afterwards.
Assange had reportedly Tweeted: "The charges are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing," at the time, with his supporters claiming he is a victim of a smear campaign.
Assange has recently been in the news for his website exposing details of classified US military documents from Iraq and Afghanistan, which has unsurprisingly irked the Pentagon.
