I would take this claim with a giant grain of salt. Assange was in an European city not on a farm in a middle eastern country. Ethics aside, this would be very difficult to operationalize even if it was seriously considered.
You can take it with whatever grain you wish, but it doesn't change the fact that the government will throw all rules out the window when they want to get their way.
A quote: “We came, we saw, he died!” she exclaimed."
- Hillary on the murder of Colonel Qaddafi
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/us/politics/libya-isis-hi...
(A NYT sourced article, just for you)
So no, zero faith for things like laws to keep the government in check.