With or without a medical condition, Assange could also make a serious argument that he would face inhumane conditions in U.S. custody. Manning, his alleged co-conspirator, would be Exhibit A in that argument. Manning spent nearly a year under solitary confinement during her Army court martial, locked in a cell for 23 hours a day and often forced to give up her prison jumpsuit at night. A military judge later ruled that Manning had been “illegally punished” and awarded her an extra 112 days off her sentence because of the mistreatment.

“You have high-security places Assange might be considered a candidate for,” Todner said, citing the ADX Florence supermax prison in Colorado that’s already been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights. “That was a key factor in the success of the Lauri Love case… Isolation is one of the issues. Access to daylight is an issue.”…

[H]e could argue that the indictment is politically motivated. “If you can show that the reason for extradition is political rather than just legal, that’s a defense,” Todner said. “I think that’s how you tie in the issue of free speech,” Todner said.