Through the Gates of Hell

di Joshua Colangelo-Bryan (Autore)

Humanitas Media, 2025

An inspiring true story about an American attorney and his client confronting prejudice and persecution in a prison outside the law, as one fights for the other’s freedom, and the other fights for his life. “We’ll be watching,” the sergeant said, pointing at a video monitor inside Camp Echo’s guard booth. “For your protection.” In 2004, attorney Joshua Colangelo-Bryan arrived at Guantanamo Bay to meet Jaber Mohammed, one of six Bahraini detainees his firm had agreed to represent. Colangelo-Bryan had heard these men were “among the most dangerous, best-trained, vicious killers on the face of the earth,” as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld put it. Colangelo-Bryan didn’t buy the rhetoric, but did find himself wondering if he was about to meet a killer. Far from being threatening, though, Mohammed welcomed Colangelo-Bryan, even as his ankle was shackled to the floor. Why was Mohammed there? Was he guilty of a crime? These were among the questions Colangelo-Bryan had to answer. Surprisingly, the two spoke for hours about their lives. Mohammed also detailed the inhumane conditions at the prison, including abuse by guards and solitary confinement. A friendship grew over time, as Colangelo-Bryan worked to bring justice to Mohammed. The Bush administration claimed any “enemy combatant” could be held in Guantanamo forever without a trial, and it became clear that litigation was unlikely to free the Bahrainis. And so, as Mohammed lost hope, Colangelo-Bryan devised a plan to leverage the media and pressure the Bahraini government to negotiate for the release of its citizens. Colangelo- Bryan’s long fight for the Bahrainis was ultimately successful, and in 2007, after several suicide attempts, Mohammed was freed. Through the Gates of Hell is a powerful account of an unlikely friendship and what it takes to fight for human rights in the post–9/11 era. The work of Joshua Colangelo-Bryan and his colleagues provide us not only with hope in a seemingly hopeless place, but the promise that there will be some who always fight for human freedom and dignity.

• Autore: Joshua Colangelo-Bryan
• Anno edizione: 2025
• Editore: Humanitas Media
• Formato: EPUB3 con Adobe DRM
• Lingua: Inglese
• Compatibilità: Tutti i dispositivi (eccetto Kindle)
• Layout: Reflowable
• EAN: 9781967494019