The Swedes are going after Wikileaks founder Julian Assange again, and the government has now issued an international warrant for his arrest.

In a hearing today at Stockholm District Court, Public Prosecutor Marianne Ny requested that the court "detain Mr. Assange in his absence" for an investigation of rape, sexual molestation, and unlawful coercion. The charges stem from Assange's visit to Sweden earlier this summer, where he was seeking a safe haven for Wikileaks as it prepared to release a trove of confidential US war documents. Assange denied any wrongdoing.

The court agreed to detain Assange, and Ny now seeks an international warrant. The Swedes initially investigated the case this summer, dropped it for lack of evidence, and then reopened it a few weeks ago.

Today the Swedish prosecutor said that Assange was needed for questioning in the matter, but his lawyers see the entire case as politically motivated.

Mark Stephens from the Index on Censorship is Assange's lawyer, and in a statement given to the press today said, "The behavior of the investigators has been bizarre. I’ve never seen anything like it in 30 years of legal practice. We haven't been able to answer the specifics of the smear because the investigators won’t detail the allegations and they haven’t responded to Mr Assange’s voluntary offers of interview."