This true story of an American attorney and his client’s fight against bigotry and hate and for dignity and human rights during the Bush era shines a light on the dark underbelly of the American security state. It is all too relevant in today’s political climate. The friendship that developed between attorney and client, coming from different worlds, proves that there is always hope if humanity is embraced.

In 2004, Joshua Colangelo-Bryan entered a small, gray room to meet his first Guantanamo Bay client, a detainee named Jaber Muhammed. He was nervous, unsure of what to expect. He’d heard the propaganda from the Bush administration that these inmates were, “among the most dangerous, best-trained vicious killers on the face of the Earth,” as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld put it. Would he be in danger? He walked through the door with his translator, hoping his client, the prisoner, wouldn’t try to harm them.

Far from being threatening, Jaber smiled warmly and welcomed Joshua as if he were a guest in Jaber’s home. They spoke for hours about Jaber’s story and their lives, slowly gaining each other’s trust. Joshua told Jaber about his firm’s commitment to human rights, and his determination to bring justice to Guantanamo detainees. 

The relationship between the lawyer and the prisoner grew over the next three years as Josh worked with Jaber to vindicate Jaber’s right to habeas corpus, which so-called “enemy combatants” were denied. There were hard days when Jaber lost all hope, but both men persevered.

Out from Guantanamo is an incredible story of basic human decency and friendship triumphing over bigotry and hatred. Guantanamo is still a hellish prison. Even as hundreds of prisoners from the Bush era have been released and some have died over the past 23 years, the Trump administration is choosing to send yet more detainees to this prison.

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.

Joshua Colangelo-Bryan is Special Counsel at Human Rights First, where he spearheads innovative impact litigation and advocacy efforts to advance international human rights, uphold democratic principles, and support defenders of human rights globally. 

For over 20 years, he maintained a pro bono practice focused on human rights, civil rights, and national security matters. For example, beginning in 2004, he represented six now-released Guantanamo Bay detainees.  He was counsel to peaceful protestors who were attacked in 2017 by Turkish security agents in Washington, D.C. He also defended parties named in Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, including clients advocating for Palestinian rights and religious pluralism in India. Further, he conducted human-rights investigations in countries such as Yemen, Lebanon, and Bahrain.

Josh previously served with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, working on the prosecution of war crimes and serving as a liaison to Yugoslav and Serbian officials. In the late 1990s, he did post-conflict humanitarian aid work in the Balkans.

He has provided commentary on CNN, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, This American Life, and All Things Considered. He has been quoted in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times. Bryan has authored op-eds in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian and has spoken before Congress and at colleges, law schools, churches, synagogues, and conferences regarding Guantanamo and international law.