Sweden orders arrest of WikiLeaks head

A court in Sweden has issued an arrest warrant for founder of whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, on allegations of rape and other sexual crimes which he has denied, Press TV reported.

Assange's lawyer, Bjorn Hurtig has announced that a Europe-wide detention order is also expected, adding that his client would most likely appeal the rule, Reuters reported Thursday.

Huting has also emphasized that Assange "maintains his complete innocence," while declining to respond to questions on his whereabouts.

In September, The Swedish prosecution office began a probe into allegations of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion against Assange, an Australian citizen.

"The reason for my request (to the court) is that we need to interrogate him. So far, we have not been able to meet him to carry out the interrogations," said Marianne Ny, the chief prosecutor leading the case against Assange.

Assange, however, has described the Swedish allegations as baseless and the case brought against him as a "legal circus."

Assange has also stated that Australian intelligence had warned him before the charges were leveled against him that he might face a campaign to discredit him.

WikiLeaks clearly angered the US Department of Defense when he released numerous secret documents related to the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In its latest leak, in October, WikiLeaks released nearly 400,000 classified US files on the Iraq war. Assange claimed the documents showed an additional undisclosed 15,000 Iraqi civilian deaths.

Earlier this month, Assange asserted that he might seek political asylum in Switzerland as US officials are mounting too much pressure on him.