I wish to make it clear it is my hope that Mr. Assange is allowed to walk out freely from the gentler prison he has lived in for the past few years. Though if this were not to happen, unlike a low level prize which would be subjected to all the forms of treatment you have mentioned, a highly prized inmate with all eyes and lawyers from global human rights organizations would most likely be spared physical harm. Of course it would not be a picnic. What I'm trying to get at is that if things remain status quo then he may be confined in the embassy for the next 20 years and wither away while we continue to sleep.