'Heartbroken' Julian Assange denied arrest warrant suspension for WikiLeaks director's funeral

Prosecutor’s office says it does not allow exemptions to a court decision

Ecuador granted the WikiLeaks founder political asylum in 2012 (Reuters)

Sweden will not temporarily suspend an arrest warrant for Julian Assange so he can attend a funeral.

WikiLeaks founder Mr Assange was hoping to leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London so he can attend the funeral of his friend and mentor Gavin MacFayden but his request has been blocked.

The Swedish prosecutor’s office has announced it will not suspend the warrant as it does not allow exemptions to a court decision.

The 45-year-old wanted to attend the funeral of Mr MacFayden, an investigative journalist and director of WikiLeaks who died at the age of 76.

Mr Assange is reportedly “heartbroken” and called the Swedish official who made the decision “callous”, the BBC reported.

Mr Assange has been in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since June 2012 after exhausting all legal options in his fight against extradition to Sweden. He is wanted for questioning over sex assault allegations after a visit to Sweden in 2010. Mr Assange denies the allegations.