{"product_id":"through-the-gates-of-hell","title":"Through the Gates of Hell","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn 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.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“We’ll be watching,” the sergeant said, pointing at a video monitor inside Camp Echo’s guard booth. “For your protection.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThrough the Gates of Hell\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful account of an unlikely friendship and what it takes to fight for human rights in the post–9\/11 era.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57509976441205,"sku":"9781967494002","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/through-the-gates-of-hell","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}