Author John Grisham used the power of the pen to take on Guantánamo Bay after discovering his novels were banned to prisoners.
In an op-ed published in the New York Times this weekend , the novelist highlighted that Gitmo prisoners could soon be transferred back to their home countries – an option Grisham believes won’t be an easy transition.
He focused on the story of an Algerian prisoner, Nabil Hadjarab, who requested several of Grisham’s books to read while in detention. Hadjarab never received them because they contained “impermissible content.” The prolific author used the prisoner as an example of Guantánamo’s continuous series of “mistakes.”
“His nightmare will only continue. He will be homeless,” writes Grisham. “He will have no support to reintegrate him into a society where many will be hostile to a former Gitmo detainee…the American authorities will whisk him away, dump him on the streets of Algiers and wash their hands.”
Grisham is known best for writing legal thrillers like “The Firm” and “The Pelican Brief.”