A well-documented, hard-hitting, necessary exposé.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
“Eviscerating, powerful, and monumentally important, A Place Outside the Law must not be ignored.”
—Booklist, Starred Review
“What sets Honigsberg’s portrait apart is his focus on the lasting effects of isolation and controversial legal process on all involved . . . A sobering book for audiences interested in law and current affairs.”
—Library Journal
“Compelling, human stories [that] paint a rich and complex picture of a deeply controversial chapter in America’s history.”
—Jennifer M. Granholm, former governor of Michigan
“[An] extraordinary effort in bearing witness to Guantánamo and recording the stories for years to come.”
—Brigadier General (Ret.) Stephen N. Xenakis, MD
“Powerful and poignant . . . Whatever one thinks of the complex and convoluted legal battles that Guantánamo has provoked and continues to engender, Honigsberg’s book is a powerful reminder of the very real individuals who have been, and many of whom remain, caught in the balance—and it’s a reminder to all of us that, as the Guantánamo detention program approaches the age of majority, we can’t just close our eyes and hope it, and the forty men still held there, will simply go away.”
—Stephen Vladeck, A. Dalton Cross Professor in Law, University of Texas School of Law
“The next generation will look back with open-mouthed shame at Guantánamo as a symbol of the United States’ disregard for the human suffering of others and for our own values. And when they do, they will have this book—and the hundreds of voices that Peter so carefully and sensitively captures—to bear witness and demand justice.”
—Hope Metcalf, lecturer, Yale Law School
“A Place Outside the Law . . . conveys the torture message with a fierceness and presence unlike any other. The reader hears the plaintive, tormented voices of both sides of the cruelties, tortured and torturer—or, as Nietzsche wrote, when you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back.”
—Lawrence Wilkerson, colonel, US Army (retired), and former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell
“A Place Outside the Law stands out as one of the only books that has endeavored to paint a complete picture of the tragedy through showing a more comprehensive picture of the infrastructure that was built and supported by negative discourses and a faux legal system . . . . Anyone looking for a book that truly bears witness to the horrors of Guantánamo should read this one.”
—Dr. Maha Hilal, codirector of Justice for Muslims Collective and expert on institutionalized Islamophobia in the war on terror
“A Place Outside the Law documents a dark time in America’s history and serves as an important reminder that the Constitution cannot be set aside for reasons of expediency. Ultimately, if America is to be an example and a force for good in the world, we must recognize that GITMO was a mistake and should never be repeated.”
—Major General Mike Lehnert, USMC (ret.), former Joint Task Force Guantánamo commander
“A Place Outside the Law makes an indispensable contribution to accountability for the multiple transgressions of the rule of law that the United States has committed—and continues to commit—in the Global War on Terror. From ignoring the presumption of innocence, to outrageous behavior against defense lawyers, from disappearance and prolonged arbitrary detention to physical and psychological torture, this shameful page of US history still demands truth and justice. Peter Jan Honigsberg’s book adds human voices and touching stories to show us why we need to insist on the US government’s obligation to investigate, reveal the truth, and prosecute and punish the perpetrators, especially those bearing the greatest responsibility for these crimes. This book brings us closer to that inevitable hour of reckoning.”
—Juan Mendez, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture
“This is the definitive account of what happened at Guantánamo in all of its chilling and horrifying detail. What makes this book unique and compelling is that it is the story of what it does to people’s lives to create ‘a place outside the law.’ Through his countless interviews, Professor Honigsberg describes the impact of Guantánamo on those who have been part of it: soldiers, medical personnel, lawyers, interrogators, torturers, detainees. It is the story of what happens when a country abandons the rule of law.”
—Erwin Chemerinsky, dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
★ 2019-09-01
The founder and director of Witness to Guantánamo shares his research on nearly 20 years of lawlessness there.
Since the military prison was founded in 2002, this "detention center for alleged terrorists" has housed inmates who have been held indefinitely without being charged and without legal representation or recourse for enduring extralegal torture. (Most have since been released from custody.) Honigsberg (Univ. of San Francisco School of Law; Our Nation Unhinged: The Human Consequences of the War on Terror, 2009, etc.) and a crew of researchers have conducted 158 videotaped interviews (more than 300 hours of film across 20 countries) with detainees; their distraught family members; Guantánamo guards and interrogators from the U.S. military; civilian and military lawyers; and interpreters hired by the federal government to deal with the mixture of languages spoken by those incarcerated. The author presents factual accounts based on the videotaped interviews and wide-ranging supplemental research. Honigsberg combines his impressive research with his persistent advocacy for detainees who clearly played no role in the 9/11 attacks and who almost certainly never posed any threat to American citizens. In easily understood lay terms, the author explains how the George W. Bush administration ignored federal court rulings regarding humane treatment, how Congress furthered the lawlessness, how federal lawyers invented the status of "enemy combatant," and how the Obama administration never observed promises to shut down Guantánamo. Some of the most unforgettable profiles in the narrative focus on detainee Mourad Benchellali, interpreter Rushan Abbas, military defense attorney Matt Diaz, civilian defense lawyer Gita Gutierrez (on the staff of the Center for Constitutional Rights), military guard Brandon Neely, journalist Carol Rosenberg, and Damien Corsetti, the so-called "King of Torture." As presented convincingly by the author, the misconduct by the U.S. government is so egregious that readers with a moral compass could fairly conclude that many individuals have been wrongly incarcerated.
A well-documented, hard-hitting, necessary exposé.
