Humanitas Media

THROUGH THE GATES OF HELL: American injustice at Guantanamo Bay

By Joshua Colangelo-Bryan

A powerful account of an unlikely friendship and what it takes to fight for human rights in the post–September 11th era.

ORDER VIA:

Praise for Through the Gates of Hell

Speaks with great open-heartedness and compassion about victims of American injustice in the first decade of this century. It’s also extremely relevant to where we find ourselves now. These pages are not only deeply moving but urgently necessary.”
- Rick Moody,author of Hotels of North America and The Long Accomplishment
The brutality of Guantanamo detention and the labyrinthine US legal system stacked against detainees make the relationship between a New York lawyer and a Guantanamo detainee inherently fraught. Joshua Colangelo-Bryan describes with touching sensitivity and humility the process of building trust and ultimately a friendship. The close relationship motivates his relentless and creative quest to free his client. A powerful lesson in empathetic, strategic lawyering.”
- Kenneth Roth,former executive director of Human Rights Watch; author of Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments
A tale not only of soul-crushing circumstances with catch-22-like protocols, but also of perseverance, ingenuity, humor, and ultimately friendship. Be prepared to lose sleep with this tightly written, unexpectedly moving page-turner.”
- Juliette Fay,bestselling author of The Half of It
A beautifully written book about a volunteer lawyer confronting an offshore prison’s powerful mythology, of legal crumbs begrudged to him by the courts, and most poignantly of a client’s acute depression and its nearly horrific result. Nearly so: but with no quit in him, the author held fast to the peculiar idea that some good might come of his work. And it did. A wonderful and inspiring work.”
- Sabin Willett,attorney; author of Abide with Me

read an excerpt from the book:

“We’ll be watching,” the sergeant said, pointing at a video monitor inside Camp Echo’s guard booth. “For your protection.” The monitor showed a grainy image of a table and chairs in a small room. To the side of the room was a tiny cell, partially hidden behind a metal mesh wall. I was about to have my first meeting with a Guantanamo Bay detainee in a room just like that.

“You have any questions before you go in?” the sergeant asked.

I certainly did. Donald Rumsfeld, the secretary of defense, had said that the detainees were “among the most dangerous, best-trained vicious killers on the face of the earth.” President George W. Bush had said that they had been “trying to kill Americans.” General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had said they would chew through hydraulic cables to bring down airplanes. I didn’t buy that kind of rhetoric wholesale, but it wasn’t hard to imagine that there were some nasty characters at Guantanamo. It was impossible not to wonder if I was about to meet one

READ THE FULL EXCERPT

About The Author

Joshua Colangelo-Bryan is Special Counsel at Human Rights First, where he spearheads impact litigation and advocacy efforts to uphold democratic principles and support human rights defenders globally. Beyond representing Guantanamo detainees, he has sued Turkey for assaulting peaceful protestors in Washington, D.C., the Trump administration for attempting to deport a college student based on her pro-test activity, and a U.S. pastor who fomented legislation in Uganda criminalizing the LGBTQI community. Josh has conducted human-rights investigations in countries such as Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain.

In the early 2000s, Josh served with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, working on the prosecution of war crimes cases.

He has provided commentary for national media, authored op-eds in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian, and spoken before Congress and at colleges, law schools, churches, and synagogues regarding Guantanamo and international law.

Because Real Stories Create Real Impact

At Humanitas Media, we believe storytelling is a powerful force for empathy, education, and transformation. Our books bring human rights issues to life through voices that are personal, emotionally resonant, and often overlooked.
 
Whether grounded in lived experience or creative expression, each book invites readers to see the world more clearly—and to care more deeply. These stories spark conversation, challenge assumptions, and help build a more just and compassionate future.
What will you read first?

From Our Library

Find more Stories
Contact
Get Involved

Allen Peacock

Allen Peacock worked for a quarter century as one of the leading editors in American book publishing. Books he acquired and published won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, among others. He worked with writers as diverse and renowned as Salman Rushdie, Robert Coover, Robert Olen Butler, Ann Beattie and MacArthur Award winners Joanna Scott and William Gaddis. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English & American Literature.