El pare Daniel Berrigan un cop va dir "escriure sobre els presos és una mica com escriure sobre els morts." Crec que volia dir que tractem els presos com a fantasmes. Ningú no els veu ni els escolta. És més fàcil ignorar-los i més fàcil encara quan el govern fa un gran esforç per amagar-los.
Father Daniel Berrigan once said that "writing about prisoners is a little like writing about the dead." I think what he meant is that we treat prisoners as ghosts. They're unseen and unheard. It's easy to simply ignore them and it's even easier when the government goes to great lengths to keep them hidden.
Com a periodista, crec que aquestes històries del que fa la gent al poder quan ningú no els veu, són precisament les històries que s'han d'explicar. Això em va fer investigar les presons més secretes i experimentals dels Estats Units, per als anomenats terroristes de segona. El govern les anomena Unitats de Gestió de la Comunicació o CMU. Els presos i els guàrdies en diuen la "Petita Guantànamo." Són illes en si mateixes. Però a diferència de Guantànamo es troben aquí mateix, a casa, flotant dintre d'altres presons federals més grans.
As a journalist, I think these stories of what people in power do when no one is watching, are precisely the stories that we need to tell. That's why I began investigating the most secretive and experimental prison units in the United States, for so-called "second-tier" terrorists. The government calls these units Communications Management Units or CMUs. Prisoners and guards call them "Little Guantanamo." They are islands unto themselves. But unlike Gitmo they exist right here, at home, floating within larger federal prisons.
Hi ha 2 CMU. Una va obrir dins la presó de Terre Haute, Indiana, i l'altra és dins d'aquesta presó, a Marion, Illinois. Cap no va seguir el procés de revisió que la llei requereix quan es van obrir. Tots els presos a les CMU han estat condemnats. Alguns casos són qüestionables, altres inclouen amenaces i violència. No rebatré la culpabilitat o la inocència dels presos. Sóc aquí perquè com va dir el jutge de la Cort Suprema Thurgood Marshall "Quan les portes de les presons es tanquen els presos no perden la qualitat humana."
There are 2 CMUs. One was opened inside the prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, and the other is inside this prison, in Marion, Illinois. Neither of them underwent the formal review process that is required by law when they were opened. CMU prisoners have all been convicted of crimes. Some of their cases are questionable and some involve threats and violence. I'm not here to argue the guilt or innocence of any prisoner. I'm here because as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall said, "When the prisons and gates slam shut, prisoners do not lose their human quality."
Tots el presos que he entrevistat diuen que hi ha tres raigs de llum a l'obscuritat de la presó: les trucades, les cartes, i les visites dels familiars. Les CMU no són presons d'aïllament, però limiten tot això radicalment a nivells que igualen o superen les presons més extremes dels EEUU. Les trucades es poden limitar a 45 minuts al mes, comparat amb el 300 minuts d'altres presos. Les cartes es poden limitar a sis fulls. Les visites es poden limitar a 4 hores al mes, comparat amb les 35 que l'Eric Rudolph, que va bombardejar el Parc Olímpic, té a la de màxima seguretat. A més, a les visites de les CMU no hi ha contacte, i els presos no poden ni abraçar la família. Com va dir un pres d'una CMU, "Aquí no ens torturen, excepte psicològicament."
Every prisoner I've interviewed has said there are three flecks of light in the darkness of prison: phone calls, letters and visits from family. CMUs aren't solitary confinement, but they radically restrict all of these to levels that meet or exceed the most extreme prisons in the United States. Their phone calls can be limited to 45 minutes a month, compared to the 300 minutes other prisoners receive. Their letters can be limited to six pieces of paper. Their visits can be limited to four hours per month, compared to the 35 hours that people like Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph receive in the supermax. On top of that, CMU visits are non-contact which means prisoners are not allowed to even hug their family. As one CMU prisoner said, "We're not being tortured here, except psychologically."
El govern no dirà qui hi ha empresonat aquí. Però a través de documents dels jutjats, peticions obertes de registres i entrevistes amb antics i actuals presos, s'han obert petits forats en les CMU.
The government won't say who is imprisoned here. But through court documents, open records requests and interviews with current and former prisoners, some small windows into the CMUs have opened.
Calculem que aquí hi ha entre 60 i 70 presos, i la majoria són musulmans. Tenen gent com el Dr. Rafil Dhafir, que va violar les sancions econòmiques a Iraq enviant subministraments mèdics per als nens. També hi ha gent com el Yassin Aref. Amb la família van fugir de l'Iraq, de Saddam Hussein, com a refugiats, cap a Nova York. Va ser arrestat el 2004 en una operació de l'FBI. L'Aref és un imam i li van demanar ser testimoni d'un préstec, que és una tradició a la cultura islàmica. Va resultar que un dels participants volia reclutar algú per a una simulació d'atac. L'Aref no ho sabia. Per això, va ser condemnat per conspiració, per oferir suport material a un grup terrorista.
There's an estimated 60 to 70 prisoners here, and they're overwhelmingly Muslim. They include people like Dr. Rafil Dhafir, who violated the economic sanctions on Iraq by sending medical supplies for the children there. They've included people like Yassin Aref. Aref and his family fled to New York from Saddam Hussein's Iraq as refugees. He was arrested in 2004 as part of an FBI sting. Aref is an imam and he was asked to bear witness to a loan, which is a tradition in Islamic culture. It turned out that one of the people involved in the loan was trying to enlist someone else in a fake attack. Aref didn't know. For that, he was convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist group.
Les CMU també inclouen presos que no són musulmans. Els guardians els anomenen "equilibradors" perquè ajuden a equilibrar les estadístiques racials, per evitar plets. Inclouen defensors dels animals i activistes mediambientals com el Daniel McGowan.
The CMUs also include some non-Muslim prisoners. The guards call them "balancers," meaning they help balance out the racial numbers, in hopes of deflecting law suits. These balancers include animal rights and environmental activists like Daniel McGowan.
En McGowan va ser condemnat per participar en dos incendis en nom de la defensa del medi ambient com a part del "Front de Llibertat per la Terra". Durant el judici tenia por que l'enviessin a una suposada presó secreta per a terroristes. El jutge va desestimar aquesta por, dient que els rumors no eren certs. Però això pot ser perquè el govern no ha explicat del tot per què alguns presos acaben a les CMU, i qui és responsable d'aquestes decisions. Quan McGowan va ser transferit, li van dir que era perquè era un "terrorista nacional", un terme que l'FBI utilitza molt quan parla d'activistes mediambientals. Ara, penseu que hi ha 400 presos a les presons dels EEUU classificats com a terroristes, i només un grapat són en una CMU. En McGowan es trobava primer a una presó de baixa seguretat i no tenia cap infracció de comunicació.
McGowan was convicted of participating in two arsons in the name of defending the environment as part of the Earth Liberation Front. During his sentencing, he was afraid that he would be sent to a rumored secret prison for terrorists. The judge dismissed all those fears, saying that they weren't supported by any facts. But that might be because the government hasn't fully explained why some prisoners end up in a CMU, and who is responsible for these decisions. When McGowan was transferred, he was told it's because he is a "domestic terrorist," a term the FBI uses repeatedly when talking about environmental activists. Now, keep in mind there are about 400 prisoners in US prisons who are classified as terrorists, and only a handful of them are in the CMUs. In McGowan's case, he was previously at a low-security prison and he had no communications violations.
Llavors, per què el van traslladar? Com altres presos de CMU, McGowan continua demanant una resposta, una vista judicial, o una oportunitat per apel·lar. L'exemple d'un altre pres mostra com es tracten aquestes peticions. "Vol que el transfereixin." "Se li ha dit que no." El mateix guàrdia de la presó va recomanar traslladar en McGowan fora de la CMU per bon comportament, però ho va denegar la Unitat Antiterrorista del Departament de Presons que treballa amb el Grup de Lluita Antiterrorista de l'FBI.
So, why was he moved? Like other CMU prisoners, McGowan repeatedly asked for an answer, a hearing, or some opportunity for an appeal. This example from another prisoner shows how those requests are viewed. "Wants a transfer." "Told him no." At one point, the prison warden himself recommended McGowan's transfer out of the CMU citing his good behavior, but the warden was overruled by the Bureau of Prison's Counterterrorism Unit, working with the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI.
Després vaig saber que en McGowan va acabar en una CMU no pel que havia fet, sinó pel que havia dit. Un document de la Unitat Antiterrorista citava les seves "creences antigovernamentals". A la presó, continuava escrivint sobre problemes mediambientals, dient que els activistes han de pensar en els seus errors i escoltar-se uns als altres. Ara, sincerament, si heu estat a Washington DC, sabreu que aquest és un concepte realment radical pel govern.
Later I found out that McGowan was really sent to a CMU not because of what he did, but what he has said. A memo from the Counterterrorism Unit cited McGowan's "anti-government beliefs." While imprisoned, he continued writing about environmental issues, saying that activists must reflect on their mistakes and listen to each other. Now, in fairness, if you've spent any time at all in Washington, DC, you know this is really a radical concept for the government.
(Rialles)
(Laughter)
De fet jo vaig demanar una visita a en McGowan a la CMU. I la van aprovar. Això em va sobtar. Primer, perquè com he dit abans vaig saber que l'FBI havia estat seguint la meva feina. Segon, perquè seria el primer i l'únic periodista que visités una CMU. Fins i tot vaig saber a través de la Unitat Antiterrorista del Departament de Presons, que seguien les meves xerrades sobre CMU, com aquesta. Com podia ser que m'aprovessin la visita? Dies abans d'anar a la presó, vaig tenir la resposta.
I actually asked to visit McGowan in the CMU. And I was approved. That came as quite a shock. First, because as I've discussed on this stage before, I learned that the FBI has been monitoring my work. Second, because it would make me the first and only journalist to visit a CMU. I had even learned through the Bureau of Prisons Counterterrorism Unit, that they had been monitoring my speeches about CMUs, like this one. So how could I possibly be approved to visit? A few days before I went out to the prison, I got an answer.
Em deixaven visitar en McGowan com a amic, no com a periodista. Els periodistes no hi tenen accés. Els oficials de la CMU li van dir a en McGowan que si jo preguntava o publicava cap història, ell seria castigat pel que jo digués. Quan vaig arribar a la visita, em van recordar que sabien qui era i coneixien la meva feina. I van dir que si intentava entrevistar a en McGowan, s'acabaria la visita. El Departament de Presons descriu les CMU com a "unitats de reclusió independents". Però crec que és una manera Orwelliana de descriure forats negres. Quan visites una CMU, passes per tots els registres de seguretat que t'esperaries. Però el camí fins a la sala de visites és silenciós. Quan un pres d'una CMU té visita, es tanquen totes les cel·les. Em van portar a una habitació petita, tan petita que obrint els barços tocava les dues parets. Al sostre hi havia una càmera de la mida d'una taronja perquè la Unitat Antiterrorista pugués seguir la visita des de West Virginia. La unitat insisteix que totes les visites a les CMU han de ser en anglès, que és un problema adicional per a moltes famílies musulmanes. Hi ha un vidre antibales entelat i a l'altre costat estava en McGowan. Vam parlar per uns telèfons que hi havia a la paret de llibres i de pel·lícules. Vam esforçar-nos en trobar raons per riure. Per combatre l'avorriment i entretenir-se a la CMU, en McGowan havia dit que jo era, en secret, el president d'un club de fans de 'Crepuscle' de Washington DC.
I was allowed to visit McGowan as a friend, not a journalist. Journalists are not allowed here. McGowan was told by CMU officials that if I asked any questions or published any story, that he would be punished for my reporting. When I arrived for our visit, the guards reminded me that they knew who I was and knew about my work. And they said that if I attempted to interview McGowan, the visit would be terminated. The Bureau of Prisons describes CMUs as "self-contained housing units." But I think that's an Orwellian way of describing black holes. When you visit a CMU, you go through all the security checkpoints that you would expect. But then the walk to the visitation room is silent. When a CMU prisoner has a visit, the rest of the prison is on lockdown. I was ushered into a small room, so small my outstretched arms could touch each wall. There was a grapefruit-sized orb in the ceiling for the visit to be live-monitored by the Counterterrorism Unit in West Virginia. The unit insists that all the visits have to be in English for CMU prisoners, which is an additional hardship for many of the Muslim families. There is a thick sheet of foggy, bulletproof glass and on the other side was Daniel McGowan. We spoke through these handsets attached to the wall and talked about books and movies. We did our best to find reasons to laugh. To fight boredom and amuse himself while in the CMU, McGowan had been spreading a rumor that I was secretly the president of a Twilight fan club in Washington, DC
(Rialles)
(Laughter)
Que consti que no ho sóc.
For the record, I'm not.
(Rialles) Però m'agradaria que l'FBI ara pensés que Bella i Edward són noms en codi de terroristes.
(Laughter) But I kind of the hope the FBI now thinks that Bella and Edward are terrorist code names.
(Rialles)
(Laughter)
Durant la visita, en McGowan em va parlar molt de la seva neboda Lily, de la Jenny, la seva dona, i l'agonia de no poder abraçar-les mai, no poder agafar-los les mans. Tres mesos després de la visita, el van treure de la CMU i després, sense cap avís, l'hi van tornar a portar. Jo havia publicat documents filtrats de la CMU a la meva web i la Unitat Antiterrorista deia que en McGowan havia trucat a la seva dona per demanar-li que els enviés. Volia saber el que el govern deia d'ell, i per això el van tornar a enviar a la CMU. Quan el van alliberar al final de la sentència, tot això es va tornar encara més kafkià. Va escriure un article per al Huffington Post titulat "Documents judicials proven que vaig ser a una CMU pel meu discurs polític"
During our visit, McGowan spoke most and at length about his niece Lily, his wife Jenny and how torturous it feels to never be able to hug them, to never be able to hold their hands. Three months after our visit, McGowan was transferred out of the CMU and then, without warning, he was sent back again. I had published leaked CMU documents on my website and the Counterterrorism Unit said that McGowan had called his wife and asked her to mail them. He wanted to see what the government was saying about him, and for that he was sent back to the CMU. When he was finally released at the end of his sentence, his story got even more Kafkaesque. He wrote an article for the Huffington Post headlined, "Court Documents Prove I was Sent to a CMU for my Political Speech."
El dia següent el van tornar a la presó pel seu discurs polític. Els seus advocats el van treure ràpidament, però el missatge era molt clar: No parlis d'aquest lloc.
The next day he was thrown back in jail for his political speech. His attorneys quickly secured his release, but the message was very clear: Don't talk about this place.
Avui, 9 anys després que l'administració de Bush les obrís, el govern està codificant com i per què es van crear les CMU. Segons el Departament de Presons, són per a presos amb un "significat inspirador". Crec que és una bona manera de dir que són presons polítiques per a presos polítics.
Today, nine years after they were opened by the Bush administration, the government is codifying how and why CMUs were created. According to the Bureau of Prisons, they are for prisoners with "inspirational significance." I think that is very nice way of saying these are political prisons for political prisoners.
S'envien el presos a les CMU per la seva raça, la religió o les idees polítiques.
Prisoners are sent to a CMU because of their race, their religion or their political beliefs.
I si penseu que és una afirmació massa agosarada, mireu alguns documents del govern mateix. Quan la CMU va denegar algunes cartes d'en McGowan, li van dir a l'emissor que era perquè les cartes eren "per a presos polítics". Un altre pres, l'activista pels drets dels animals Andy Stepanian, va acabar a un CMU per les seves opinions antigovernamentals i anticorporatives.
Now, if you think that characterization is too strong, just look at some of the government's own documents. When some of McGowan's mail was rejected by the CMU, the sender was told it's because the letters were intended "for political prisoners." When another prisoner, animal rights activist Andy Stepanian, was sent to a CMU, it was because of his anti-government and anti-corporate views.
Sé que és difícil de creure que això passi avui als Estats Units. Però el que no se sap és que els EEUU tenen una història fosca de castigar desproporcionadament les persones per les idees polítiques. Als 60, abans que Marion acollís la CMU, hi tenia la infame Unitat de Control. Els presos estaven tancats en solitud 22 hores al dia. Els guàrdies deien que la unitat era per "controlar actituds revolucionàries". Als 80, un altre experiment anomenat Unitat d'Alta Seguretat de Lexington era per a dones de grups radicals com Weather Underground, la Lliberació Negra o per la independència porto-riquenya. La presó restringia fortament la comunicació i practicava la privació de son, amb els llums encesos constantment per l'anomenada "conversió ideològica". Al final van tancar aquelles presons, però només per les campanyes de grups religiosos i defensors dels drets humans, com Amnistia Internacional.
Now, I know all of this may be hard to believe, that it's happening right now, and in the United States. But the unknown reality is that the US has a dark history of disproportionately punishing people because of their political beliefs. In the 1960s, before Marion was home to the CMU, it was home to the notorious Control Unit. Prisoners were locked down in solitary for 22 hours a day. The warden said the unit was to "control revolutionary attitudes." In the 1980s, another experiment called the Lexington High Security Unit held women connected to the Weather Underground, Black Liberation and Puerto Rican independent struggles. The prison radically restricted communication and used sleep deprivation, and constant light for so-called "ideological conversion." Those prisons were eventually shut down, but only through the campaigning of religious groups and human rights advocates, like Amnesty International.
Avui, advocats dels drets humans amb el Centre pels Drets Constitucionals lluiten als jutjats amb les CMU perquè neguen als presos el dret a un procés just i prenen represàlies contra ells pel seu legítim discurs, polític o religiós. Sense aquest plet, molts d'aquests documents mai s'haurien fet públics.
Today, civil rights lawyers with the Center for Constitutional Rights are challenging CMUs in court for depriving prisoners of their due process rights and for retaliating against them for their protected political and religious speech. Many of these documents would have never come to light without this lawsuit.
El missatge d'aquests grups i el meu per a vosaltres avui és que hem de ser testimonis del que es fa amb aquests presos. Com els tracten reflecteix els valors que hi ha fora dels murs de la presó. Aquesta història no és només sobre els presos. És sobre tots nosaltres. Sobre el nostre compromís amb els drets humans. Sobre si escollirem parar de repetir els errors del passat. Si no escoltem el que el Pare Berrigan anomenava les històries dels morts, aviat seran les nostres històries.
The message of these groups and my message for you today is that we must bear witness to what is being done to these prisoners. Their treatment is a reflection of the values held beyond prison walls. This story is not just about prisoners. It is about us. It is about our own commitment to human rights. It is about whether we will choose to stop repeating the mistakes of our past. If we don't listen to what Father Berrigan described as the stories of the dead, they will soon become the stories of ourselves.
Gràcies.
Thank you.
(Aplaudiment)
(Applause)
(Finalitza l'aplaudiment)
(Applause ends)
Tom Rielly: Tinc dues preguntes. Quan era a l'institut, apreníem sobre la Declaració dels Drets Humans, la Constitució, la llibertat d'expressió, el dret a un procés just i unes altres 25 lleis i drets que semblen violades per tot això. Com pot estar passant tot això?
Tom Rielly: I have a couple questions. When I was in high school, I learned about the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, freedom of speech, due process and about 25 other laws and rights that seem to be violated by this. How could this possibly be happening?
Will Potter: Crec que aquesta és la pregunta més freqüent que m'han fet durant la meva recerca, i la resposta curta és que la gent no ho sap. Crec que la solució a qualsevol d'aquests problemes, a qualsevol violació de drets, depèn bàsicament de dos factors. Depèn de que se sàpiga què està passant i després que hi hagi recursos i eficàcia per canviar-ho. I malauradament amb aquests presos, primer, la gent no sap res del que passa i a més els presos ja són part d'una població sense drets que no té accés a advocats, ni parlen anglès. A vegades, tenen bona representació, com he dit, però el públic no sap el que està passant.
Will Potter: I think that's the number one question I get throughout all of my work, and the short answer is that people don't know. I think the solution to any of these types of situations, any rights abuses, are really dependent on two things. They're dependent on knowledge that it's actually happening and then a means and efficacy to actually make a change. And unfortunately with these prisoners, one, people don't know what's happening at all and then they're already disenfranchised populations who don't have access to attorneys, not native English speakers. In some of these cases, they have great representation that I mentioned, but there's just not a public awareness of what's happening.
TR: Els presos no tenen dret a un advocat o accés a un advocat?
TR: Isn't it guaranteed in prison that you have right to council or access to council?
WP: Normalment a la nostra cultura creiem que si una persona ha estat condemnada per un crim, sense importar si el crim és veritat o no, el que li passi després està justificat. I això crec que és molt perjudicial i perillós, i permet que aquestes coses succeeixin, ja que la majoria del públic els hi gira l'esquena.
WP: There's a tendency in our culture to see when people have been convicted of a crime, no matter if that charge was bogus or legitimate, that whatever happens to them after that is warranted. And I think that's a really damaging and dangerous narrative that we have, that allows these types of things to happen, as the general public just kind of turns a blind eye to it.
TR: Tots els documents de la pantalla són reals, paraula per paraula, sense canvis, no?
TR: All those documents on screen were all real documents, word for word, unchanged at all, right?
WP: Completament. De fet els he pujat tots a la meva web. És willpotter.com/CMU i hi ha una versió anotada de la xerrada així podeu veure els documents sense les retallades. Els podeu veure sencers. He utilitzat principalment documents originals o entrevistes meves a presos antics o actuals, a gent que continua patint aquesta situació. I com he dit, jo també hi he estat allà.
WP: Absolutely. I've actually uploaded all of them to my website. It's willpotter.com/CMU and it's a footnoted version of the talk, so you can see the documents for yourself without the little snippets. You can see the full version. I relied overwhelmingly on primary source documents or on primary interviews with former and current prisoners, with people that are dealing with this situation every day. And like I said, I've been there myself, as well.
TR: El teu treball és molt valent.
TR: You're doing courageous work.
WP: Moltes gràcies, gràcies a tots.
WP: Thank you very much. Thank you all.
(Aplaudiments)
(Applause)