From Wikileaks to the Lamb Vindaloo: The Irony of Justice in Modern Times

Assange vs. Khalife: Contrasting Fates in a Bungled Justice System

A former British army officer and suspected terrorist strolled out of prison Wednesday dressed as a chef, because of course, he did. Young Daniel Khalife – apparently 6’2″ when not stooping to sneak by guards – simply let himself out of the kitchen freezer and clung merrily to a food truck’s undercarriage before disappearing into the ether.

One pictures the guards’ faces when the alarm sounded: “He’s escaped? Dressed as a what? Why no, we didn’t frisk the sous chef making the lamb vindaloo, terribly sorry about that.” Cue nationwide panic as a manhunt scrambles to plug the holes in security Khalife scampered out of so effortlessly.

Authorities assure us this alleged treasonous bomb plotter poses merely a “low risk” to the public. Of course – what harm could come from an ex-soldier turned radical zipping about unsupervised? The guards meant to detain him likely agree as they scour the countryside, hoping he hasn’t fled Britain using some devilishly clever ruse, like a delivery lorry.

A working theory is that Mr Khalife had been in the kitchen when he began his escape from HMP Wandsworth, a category B prison in south-west London, at around 07:50 BST.

He is 6ft 2ins tall and was last seen wearing a prison-issue chef’s uniform of a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown steel toe cap boots, police said.

Questions (and justified eye-rolls) abound over why such an obvious security risk was left to marinate in a medium-security prison instead of being locked firmly away in maximum. But clearly, the charges of attempted terrorism and espionage didn’t warrant much caution – or competence.

Now the police flail about amidst the chaos, imploring the public’s aid to rectify bureaucracies’ blundering. Heathrow grinds to a halt so the authorities might redeem their credibility. Yet credibility seeps away when the alleged terrorists they vow to contain slip their snares with such absurd ease.

Assange vs. Khalife: Contrasting Fates in a Bungled Justice System

Yet as alarms sound over this suspected terrorist’s brazen escape, some irony arises considering the ongoing incarceration of Julian Assange. Unlike Khalife, the Wikileaks founder remains imprisoned not in a category B prison in south-west London near his home. Instead, he is incarcerated in Belmarsh, a Category A prison typically reserved for the most dangerous inmates. The reason for his imprisonment? Not for some extremist bomb plot, not even for any criminal act, but for the non-criminal act of exposing undisputed government wrongdoing.

While an accused treasonous bomb plotter roams free due to prison incompetence, Assange languishes under maximum security simply for publishing hard truths. His egregious treatment juxtaposed with Khalife’s loose monitoring highlights an upside-down system rattled more by the transparency of whistleblowers than literal terrorism.

Assange faces extradition and life behind bars for his digital muckraking, which revealed provable war crimes and corruption the powerful desperately want concealed. Meanwhile, an ex-soldier charged who basically committed treason can slip his cell unnoticed, it seems authorities are more concerned with muzzling dissent than containing radicalisation.

yes, it really does beggar belief that an actual alleged terrorist fled confinement with ease and what looks like a schetch from Benny Hill while a journalist who told uncomfortable truths suffers Orwellian punishment encapsulates the establishment’s warped priorities. With whistleblowers facing vengeance and alleged traitors facing leniency, justice stands perverted.

This farcical contrast between Assange’s harsh fate and Khalife’s leisurely stroll to freedom reveals much about where real menace lies in institutional eyes – and it is not with those plotting violence.

Are there no cooks in Belmarsh, one wonders?

Escapes may be rare, but headlines exposing bungled procedures are common enough to erode faith that officials can handle dangerous inmates. Unless they upgrade prison cook uniforms to include ankle monitors, that is. Afterwards, mandatory pat-downs of exiting sous chefs seem sensible. Khalife’s escapade makes the Keystone Cops look like MI5.