Will Potter: The secret US prisons you've never heard of before
Will Potter: Tajni zatvori u SAD-u za koje nikad niste čuli
Award-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
that "writing about prisoners
da je "pisanje o zatvorenicima
we treat prisoners as ghosts.
postupamo kao s duhovima.
goes to great lengths to keep them hidden.
silno trudi da ih sakrije.
when no one is watching,
dok ih nitko ne gleda
that we need to tell.
koje trebamo ispričati.
prison units in the United States,
zatvorske jedinice u Sjedinjenim Državama,
Communications Management Units or CMUs.
upravljanje komunikacijama ili JUK.
"Little Guantanamo."
"Mali Guantanamo."
right here, at home,
nalaze ovdje, kod kuće,
in Terre Haute, Indiana,
Terre Haute u Indiani,
in Marion, Illinois.
zatvoru u Marionu u Illinoisu.
the formal review process
službeni postupak provjere
when they were opened.
kad su otvoreni.
been convicted of crimes.
osuđeni za zločine.
and some involve threats and violence.
a neki uključuju prijetnje i nasilje.
or innocence of any prisoner.
nevinost ikojeg zatvorenika.
Thurgood Marshall said,
Vrhovnog suda Thurgood Marshall:
their human quality."
svoje ljudske osobine."
has said there are three flecks of light
je rekao da postoje tri točkice svjetlosti
but they radically restrict all of these
oni radikalno ograničavaju sve troje
extreme prisons in the United States.
premašuju najekstremnije zatvore u SAD-u.
to 45 minutes a month,
ograničeni na 45 minuta mjesečno,
other prisoners receive.
dobivaju drugi zatvorenici.
to six pieces of paper.
na šest komada papira.
to four hours per month,
četiri sata mjesečno,
like Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph
Erica Rudolpha, bombaša na Olympic Park
which means prisoners are not allowed
što znači da zatvorenici ne smiju
except psychologically."
osim psihički."
who is imprisoned here.
ovdje zatvoren.
open records requests
zahtjeva za objavljivanje sudskih spisa
and former prisoners,
bivšim zatvorenicima,
into the CMUs have opened.
mali prozori u JUK-ove.
60 to 70 prisoners here,
nalazi 60-70 zatvorenika,
on Iraq by sending medical supplies
Iraku slanjem zaliha lijekova
from Saddam Hussein's Iraq as refugees.
York iz Sadamovog Iraka, kao izbjeglice.
as part of an FBI sting.
operacije FBI-ja.
to bear witness to a loan,
posvjedoči posudbi,
involved in the loan was trying to enlist
u posudbi pokušavao regrutirati
to a terrorist group.
potpore terorističkoj skupini.
some non-Muslim prisoners.
koji nisu muslimani.
the racial numbers,
pripadnika rasnih skupina,
and environmental activists
prava životinja i za očuvanje okoliša
of participating in two arsons
u podmetanju dvaju požara
that he would be sent
da će ga poslati
o kojem je čuo priče.
weren't supported by any facts.
nemaju uporišta u činjenicama.
hasn't fully explained
nije u potpunosti objasnila
for these decisions.
talking about environmental activists.
je riječ o aktivistima za očuvanje okoliša
prisoners in US prisons
nalazi oko 400 zatvorenika
are in the CMUs.
at a low-security prison
bio u zatvoru poluotvorenog tipa
komunikacijski prekršaj.
for an answer, a hearing,
odgovor, saslušanje
shows how those requests are viewed.
pokazuje kako se ti zahtjevi razmatraju.
recommended McGowan's transfer
preporučio McGowana za premještaj
Counterterrorism Unit,
Task Force of the FBI.
skupinom FBI-ja protiv terorizma.
was really sent to a CMU
zapravo poslan u JUK
cited McGowan's "anti-government beliefs."
njegova "protuvladina uvjerenja."
about environmental issues,
o okolišnim problemima,
reflect on their mistakes
promišljati o svojim greškama
any time at all in Washington, DC,
proveli u Washingtonu, DC,
concept for the government.
koncept zbilja radikalan.
McGowan in the CMU.
da posjetim McGowana u JUK.
on this stage before,
ranije rekao na ovoj pozornici,
monitoring my work.
and only journalist to visit a CMU.
jedini novinar koji je posjetio JUK.
Counterterrorism Unit,
Uprave za zatvorski sustav
about CMUs, like this one.
poput ovoga.
be approved to visit?
je odobren posjet?
out to the prison, I got an answer.
posjetio zatvor, dobio sam odgovor.
as a friend, not a journalist.
kao prijatelj, a ne kao novinar.
that if I asked any questions
će budem li postavljao ikakva pitanja
for my reporting.
the guards reminded me
stražari su me podsjetili
and knew about my work.
i što radim.
to interview McGowan,
intervjuirati McGowana,
as "self-contained housing units."
kao "samostalne smještajne jedinice."
of describing black holes.
opisivanja crnih rupa.
checkpoints that you would expect.
točke koje biste i očekivali.
to the visitation room is silent.
posjete tih.
the rest of the prison is on lockdown.
ostatak zatvora je u blokadi.
could touch each wall.
mogao doseći oba zida.
orb in the ceiling
veličine grejpa
by the Counterterrorism Unit
Protuteroristička jedinica
have to be in English for CMU prisoners,
JUK zatvorenicima moraju biti na engleskom
for many of the Muslim families.
za mnoge muslimanske obitelji.
bulletproof glass
stakla otpornog na metke,
attached to the wall
pričvršćenih za zid
da nađemo razloge za smijeh.
while in the CMU,
dok je u JUK-u,
that I was secretly the president
tajni predsjednik
now thinks that Bella and Edward
sad misli da su Bella i Edward
and at length about his niece Lily,
i opširno pričao o svojoj nećakinji Lily,
it feels to never be able to hug them,
mučno što ih nikad ne može zagrliti,
was transferred out of the CMU
McGowana su prebacili iz JUK-a
he was sent back again.
poslali natrag.
CMU documents on my website
dokumente od JUK-a koji su iscurili
that McGowan had called his wife
da je McGowan nazvao suprugu
was saying about him,
govori o njemu,
at the end of his sentence,
nakon odsluženja kazne
još kafkijanskija.
for the Huffington Post headlined,
Huffington Post pod naslovom
a CMU for my Political Speech."
u JUK zbog svog političkog govora."
back in jail for his political speech.
zbog političkog govora.
by the Bush administration,
je Busheva administracija otvorila,
how and why CMUs were created.
su JUK-ovi stvoreni.
with "inspirational significance."
"inspirativne važnosti."
these are political prisons
za političke zatvore
because of their race,
zbog njihove rase,
political beliefs.
uvjerenja.
characterization is too strong,
obilježavanje prejako,
of the government's own documents.
od vladinih dokumenata.
by the CMU, the sender was told
pisma, pošiljatelju je objašnjeno
"for political prisoners."
namijenjena "političkim zatvorenicima."
activist Andy Stepanian,
prava životinja Andy Stepanian
anti-government and anti-corporate views.
stajališta protiv vlade i korporacija.
may be hard to believe,
teško vjerovati svemu ovome,
and in the United States.
i to u Sjedinjenim Državama.
is that the US has a dark history
da SAD ima mračnu povijest
because of their political beliefs.
zbog njihovih političkih uvjerenja.
was home to the CMU,
postao dom JUK-u,
in solitary for 22 hours a day.
samicama 22 sata dnevno.
was to "control revolutionary attitudes."
"kontroliranju revolucionarnih stavova."
the Lexington High Security Unit
Leksingtonška jedinica za visoku sigurnost
to the Weather Underground,
Weather Underground,
independent struggles.
nezavisnost Portorika.
communication and used sleep deprivation,
komunikaciju i služio se uskraćivanjem sna
"ideological conversion."
"ideološke preobrazbe."
but only through the campaigning
ali isključivo zahvaljujući borbi
advocates, like Amnesty International.
prava poput Amnesty Internationala.
with the Center for Constitutional Rights
iz Centra za ustavna prava
of their due process rights
zatvorenika na pravični postupak
and religious speech.
i religijskih govora.
never come to light without this lawsuit.
vidjelo da nije bilo ove tužbe.
and my message for you today
vama danas
to what is being done to these prisoners.
nad ovim zatvorenicima.
of the values held beyond prison walls.
izvan zatvorskih zidova.
to human rights.
ljudskim pravima.
repeating the mistakes of our past.
pogreške iz prošlosti.
described as the stories of the dead,
Berrigan opisao kao priče o mrtvima,
the stories of ourselves.
priče o nama.
I learned about the Bill of Rights,
Povelji o pravima,
about 25 other laws and rights
drugih zakona i prava
the number one question I get
pitanje koje me pitaju
that people don't know.
da ljudi ne znaju.
of situations, any rights abuses,
situaciju, svako kršenje prava
that it's actually happening
doista događa
to actually make a change.
u stvaranju promjene.
what's happening at all
to se događa
disenfranchised populations
not native English speakers.
engleski im nije materinji jezik.
representation that I mentioned,
odlično zastupanje koje sam spomenuo
of what's happening.
javnosti o tome što se događa.
that you have right to council
na odvjetnika
postoji sklonost
convicted of a crime,
za neki zločin,
was bogus or legitimate,
ili legitimnoj optužbi
after that is warranted.
dogodi je zasluženo.
and dangerous narrative that we have,
štetan i opasan taj naš narativ
of things to happen,
ovakve stvari događaju,
kind of turns a blind eye to it.
samo zažmiri pred njima.
were all real documents, word for word,
su stvarni dokumenti, od riječi do riječi,
all of them to my website.
stavio na svoju web stranicu.
a footnoted version of the talk,
nalaze se u fusnotama ovog govora,
without the little snippets.
dokumente bez isječaka.
on primary source documents
dokumente iz primarnih izvora
with former and current prisoners,
s bivšim i sadašnjim zatvorenicima,
with this situation every day.
nose s ovom situacijom.
there myself, as well.
bio sam osobno tamo.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Will Potter - Investigative journalistAward-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era.
Why you should listen
Independent journalist and TED Fellow Will Potter is based in Washington, D.C.; his current work examines how whistleblowers and non-violent protesters are being treated as terrorists.
The author of Green Is The New Red: An Insider's Account of a Social Movement Under Siege, Potter has extensively documented how non-violent protest is slowly being criminalized. His reporting and commentary have been featured in the world's top media outlets, including the Washington Post, NPR, Rolling Stone, El Pais, and Le Monde. He has testified before the U.S. Congress about his reporting, as the only witness opposing the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act -- and he is a plaintiff in the first lawsuits challenging so-called "ag-gag" laws as unconstitutional.
Will has also lectured at many universities and public forums about his work, including Georgetown University, Harvard Law School, and the House of Democracy and Human Rights in Berlin. International speaking tours have included Germany, Austria, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Spain, and he was the international guest lecturer for Australia's 2014 animal law lecture series.
His reporting has overturned criminal prosecutions, and it has both been praised in Congressional reports and monitored by the Counter-Terrorism Unit.
Will Potter | Speaker | TED.com