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Connect the World
Berlusconi Tax Fraud Conviction Upheld; Ariel Castro: I Am An Addict; Edward Snowden Granted Temporary Asylum
Aired August 01, 2013 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: And tonight, Berlusconi`s next move as Italy`s supreme court upholds a prison sentence handed down to its former prime minister. Why the country is holding its breath.
Also ahead, Ariel Castro explains why he held three women prisoner for nearly a decade. We decipher his motives with a forensic psychiatrist.
And the queen`s speech that wasn`t, newly released documents show how Britain once prepared for nuclear Armageddon.
From CNN Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World this evening. I`m Becky Anderson.
Kicking off tonight with a story out of Italy. Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to four years in jail in a tax fraud case. Now it`s a ruling that could throw Italy`s fragile coalition government into jeopardy.
Let`s get the details from Barbie Nadeau who joins me now live from Rome. A man who had a seat at the top table in global politics for nearly two decades, Barbie, tonight sentenced to a prison term by Italy`s highest court. The question is will he serve time behind bars. Is it clear yet?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it`s very unlikely, especially because of his age. Men and women over 70 years old in Italy who are sentenced to white collar crimes don`t have to serve jailtime because of the prison overcrowding rule that came down a few years ago. So he shouldn`t have to serve time because of that.
But also, that he doesn`t have to serve time because it`s less than two years. And he`ll probably either have to serve it on house arrest instead, or maybe just community service. I don`t see him out there sweeping streets or anything like that, but it`s possible that instead of being confined to one of his wonderful homes here in Italy that he would have to do some sort of community service instead.
All of that remains to be seen yet, Becky.
ANDERSON: All right. That`s the very latest out of Rome. His career, colorful to say the least of course.
Let`s take a step back and take a look at a politician who has long been at the center of Italian politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Scenes of celebration on November 12, 2011. Italians had just learned that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was stepping down. Many blamed their colorful leader for the country`s economic woes and were also fed up with the scandals that plagued his 17 year political career.
Since he was first elected prime minister in 1994, Berlusconi has faced allegations of tax fraud, bribery and paying for sex with an under- aged prostitute that have reached the courts.
SILVIO BERLUSCONI, FRM. ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): It is absurd to think that I paid to have a rapport with a woman. It is something that I have never done, not even once in my life. I find it degrading for my dignity.
ANDERSON: In fact, he`s always denied every allegation against him. And in some cases, charges were dropped or he was cleared.
But in October last year, one charge stuck. Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud. Undaunted, the flamboyant 76-year-old businessman not only launched an appeal, but in December made two significant announcements: his engagement to Francesca Pascale and then his political comeback.
The three-time prime minister appealed to Italian voters by denouncing the unpopular austerity policies of technocrat Mario Monte.
For all of his critics, Berlusconi won almost 30 percent of the vote in February and remains an influential figure in Enrico Letta`s fragile coalition government.
It`s a union made all the more uneasy by Berlusconi`s ongoing legal fight and staging of rallies like this where he accused the judiciary of bias, drawing cheers from supporters.
"President, we are with you," they sing. "Thank goodness, Silvio is here."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: I want to bring in Alexander Stille, author of the "Sack of Rome: Media Plus Money Plus Celebrity Equals Power Equals Silvio Berlusconi." His book, a journalist and the former editor of Italy`s Corrietta de la Sera (ph) Newspaper. He`s joining me now from CNN in New York.
And Alexander, I know Berlusconi is no shrinking violet, but how can he survive this latest saga?
ALEXANDER STILLE, AUTHOR: Well, I wouldn`t completely count him out. This is a cat that has more than nine lives at this point. Being the richest and most powerful man in the country gives you resources that most people don`t have. Along with his having the extraordinary amount of energy, a boundless belief in himself and, one must say, a complete lack of shame, you know, Berlusconi has never acknowledged or even, I think, really consider that he`s ever done anything wrong, despite the fact that he has been convicted at trial of many very serious crimes, and in this case the decision was actually upheld at the highest level.
And--
ANDERSON: It is ironic that by upholding "hang on" it`s ironic that by upholding his conviction, the supreme court is tonight actually putting an inordinate amount of strain on what is this coalition government of which Berlusconi`s party is the junior member.
This is messy, at best, isn`t it? And there is a huge cohort of Italians who adore this man and say bring him back.
STILLE: Well, you raise a really important point. The "what, in some ways is unfortunate is the particular, because Berlusconi has been so incredibly powerful, relations of force and power have determined have trumped justice during the course of his long political and legal career as a criminal defendant. The fact that he is so powerful and the government depends on his support means that there will be a kind of political negotiation to find a face saving and certainly prison saving solution for this.
He`s certainly not going to go to prison. And they probably will try and find some way where he is allowed to reenter public life after a brief period, something like that. But it`s not "it`s not too pretty to see matters of justice negotiated as a kind of political bargaining chip, but that`s in fact what will happen, because this government does depend on his coalition support. And his coalition "something that`s difficult, I think, for non-Italian viewers to understand is that this is not a normal political coalition. This is a political party that was created and depends almost entirely on one man.
So the people who are--
ANDERSON: That`s right.
STILLE: In this party.
ANDERSON: Let me just -- go on.
STILLE: Yes. Go -- are almost like employees rather than, you know, self-determined politicians who decide to vote this way or that way on a particular piece of legislation.
ANDERSON: Let me -- let me put this to you tonight. There are reports that the leader of the center-left party is calling on Berlusconi`s PDL Party this evening to continue to back the government. I want to know whether you think that is likely to happen at this point?
STILLE: Well, I think it probably is likely, because there`s another political reality that will come to bear. This would not be a good moment for Berlusconi and his party to go to elections. Even though his electorate has shown itself to be virtually immune from scandal and unimpressed by his legal difficulties, he`s not in a great position right now. So if an election were held, you know, two months from now, three months from now you wouldn`t want to be running as a convicted criminal. And he himself might not be allowed, because of this ruling, to be the candidate. And therefore his coalition would be badly weakened.
So their leverage is somewhat diminished "in other words, their main leverage is to say hey if you don`t do what we want we`ll bring down the government and there will be elections. Wait -- in other words, it`s a game of chicken that will go on in terms of how much " who can push whom harder in a direction.
ANDERSON: The end of democracy, an Apocalypse for Italy, the words of one of his loyalists tonight. But it has to be said, and I`ve spoken to lots of Italians about this, even those who don`t vote for him and may never vote for him going forward, there is a certain sense that Italians are prepared to forgive him. That`s something that perhaps we will discuss at a later date. But for tonight, we thank you very much indeed for your analysis.
Alexander Stille, tonight out of New York.
And you`re watching Connect the World tonight out of Abu Dhabi. I`m Becky Anderson. Still to come, despite his monstrous actions, Ariel Castro insists he isn`t one. We`ll have more on his sentencing after this.
More than a month later, Edward Snowden has left the building. We`ll have details from Moscow.
And with each Passing day, the crisis only depends. Supporters of Egypt`s deposed president are planning another million-man march despite repeated warnings. We`re live this hour in Cairo. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Sheikh Zaid Mosque behind me. You`re in Abu Dhabi with me watching Connect the World. I`m Becky Anderson for you. Welcome back.
Now today the world got a glimpse into a real life house of horrors at the sentence of Ariel Castro. He is the Cleveland man convicted of kidnapping three women and holding them captive for more than a decade. The revelations we heard in that courtroom were gripping and, quite frankly, disturbing.
Hearing firsthand from one of the victims, Michelle Knight, what the 11 years of abuse were like. She had these words for her tormentor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE KNIGHT, ARIEL CASTRO VICTIM: I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning. I will overcome all this that happen, but you will (inaudible) hell for eternity.
From this moment on, I will not let you define me or affect who I am. You will live "I will live on, you will die a little every day as you think about the 11 years and atrocities you inflicted on us.
What does god think of you hypocritically going to church every Sunday, coming home to torture us? The death penalty will be so much easier. You don`t deserve that, you deserve to spend life in prison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Ariel Castro himself pleaded guilty to 937 counts against him, including murder and kidnapping and will now spend life in prison plus 1,000 years. But he did speak out in his defense, insisting he is not a monster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARIEL CASTRO, CONVICTED OF KIDNAPPING: I`m not a monster. I`m a normal person. I`m just sick. I have an addiction, just like an alcoholic has an addiction. Alcoholics cannot control their addiction, just like I couldn`t control my addiction your honor.
But (inaudible) that went on in that house, (inaudible) was consensual. These allegations about being forceful on them, that is totally wrong. Because there were times that they would even ask me for sex, many times. But I do also want to let you know that there were time (inaudible) at home I was (inaudible) I just hope they find it in their hearts to forgive me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Scene in a Cleveland, Ohio court room just hours ago.
We`re going to have much on this story later in this hour. We`re going to hear from our correspondent in Cleveland outside that courtroom. And we`ll speak to Dr. Tracy Marks on the psychological impact the ordeals had and will continue to have on the lives of his victims.
Moving on, though, for the time being to other news. And supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy -- and not only ignoring warnings to end their protests, they are calling even more people onto the streets. A pro-Morsy coalition is planning another, what they call million man march Friday in Cairo.
Arwa Damon is with Morsy supporters and she joins us now live -- Arwa.
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Becky.
Well, earlier in the day we spent a few hours in the El-Nahda (ph) sit-in site, that is the one that is in front of Cairo University and just take a look at what we saw.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: What has everyone riled up right now holding the Morsy posters, looking up into the sky is a military helicopter that has been hovering overhead.
People here are fully anticipating that a crackdown by the security forces is imminent. The military backs interim government already has the Ministry of Interior put out a statement asking people to clear out of these various Cairo squares, saying that they need to be rational and that if they do choose to clear out right now they would be given safe passage.
But nobody here has any intention of going anywhere anytime soon.
There are already preparations well under way. This group of women here have been making these makeshift gas masks, incredibly crude -- a paper cup filled with charcoal and gauze. That of course helps filter the toxins from the tear gas, a bit of cotton inside that as well. A water bottle that has been cut and shaped, just showing us how it attaches to the bottom. A little bit of foam. These two straps. And then it goes on.
The military-backed interim government says that these sit-ins have been disrupting people`s lives, residents in the area complaining about them saying that they`ve been intimidated, entire roads being blocked off. The government also saying that it suspects that there are armed people within these various camps, all of which, it says, constitute a threat to national security. And it says its way of dealing with these sit-ins, issuing warnings, then saying they`ll use tear gas, then whatever means necessary to clear them out fall well within the rule of law.
With the people here determined to stay fully believing that this really is their only option. And the military-backed interim government just as determined to somehow restore rule of law, it seems as if Egypt is on a course towards even more bloodshed.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Cairo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: And to that effect, Becky, as you were mentioning, these pro- Morsy demonstrators are planning a so-called million man march tomorrow with crackdown still potentially looming over them.
ANDERSON: Yeah. All right, Arwa. Stick with it. We`re staying in the region. Thank you.
A Syrian opposition group says at least 40 people have been killed in a massive explosion in Homs. This dramatic amateur video of the blast was posted on YouTube earlier. Opposition activists say that it appears that rebels fired rockets at an ammunitions depot run by a pro-regime militia.
Now hours earlier, President Bashar al-Assad made a rare public appearance near Damascus, predicting certain victory, as he called it, in the civil war. He visited Syrian troops in Darayya, quote, telling them, quote, "you have impressed the whole world with your resistance," end quote.
Well, he`s being dubbed fabulous fab, and right now he`s one of the few Wall Street heavyweights found libel in connection with the 2008 financial crisis. Felicia Taylor tells -- joins me now from New York.
We are talking about whom? What did he do? And what has happened?
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, what has happened basically is that he has been found libel on six of seven count in what was a deal that went sour back in 2007, 2008. He has been found guilty of fraud. And that is, you know, misleading investors about information on the other side of a trade of a CDO, which is a product that was designed, created by John Paulson who is a very high profile hedge fund manager. And he was betting against the mortgage market and then what happened was Fab Fab, Mr. Fabrice Tourre, he went on behalf of Goldman Sachs and sold this to sophisticated investors.
Now it`s interesting because as with any trade there`s always two sides. And certainly there are two sides in terms of opinion with regards to this case. I talked to some traders at the New York Stock Exchange and they said, you know, when the verdict came through of him being guilty of - - or rather libel of this fraud, traders actually stopped and were stunned, because the people on the other side of this trade, those who were buying into this -- and granted, they were mislead by some certain amount of information that wasn`t -- it wasn`t given, in other words that Paulson intended to short this, that is the interesting part about this.
So, it`s a big win for the SEC. As I said, six out of seven counts. He could face a monetary fine. That will be imposed by the judge. We don`t know how much that will be.
Don`t forget that Goldman Sachs has already settled with the SEC back in 2010 to the tune of $550 million.
He could be banned from ever trading again as well, which obviously would be devastating to a young man`s career -- Becky.
ANDERSON: All right. Felicia Taylor in New York on that story, a jury in New York finding former Goldman Sachs trader Fabrice Tourre libel of defrauding investors on mortgage securities, one of those stories that is coming back to haunt us, isn`t it, post-2008.
Zimbabwe`s main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai is already crying foul over Wednesday`s election. He says the whole thing was a, quote, "farce." The elections passed on peacefully in comparison to 2008, the last time there were elections in the country.
But accusations of fraud and voter intimidation are currently being investigated. Neil Connery has more on what we should expect next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL CONNERY, IVN NEWS: Well, there`s still plenty of speculation here, no official results to fill this vacuum that has existed since the polls closed 24 hours ago. It is a case, really, of claim and counter claim going on here. The ruling party is Zanu PF making it clear in their view they think they have buried the opposition, as one of their spokesman said today.
But the opposition, as we`ve heard, making some very strong claims indeed, describing this as a huge fraud that has been conducted here with this vote with questions being raised over the timing of it, the electoral register and allegations made, too, about voter intimidation.
So I think we`re going to see more of this in the hours to come, but in terms of the official result from the Zimbabwe election commission, I don`t think that`s going to come any time soon. It might start to drip though later on this evening, but it`s more likely into tomorrow, possibly over the weekend.
The question now, though, is that were the ruling party to win here, what would the outside world do given the concerns that have been raised about this election? Is it possible that more sanctions could be put on the table or would there be a weary acceptance of this country`s plight?
I think the key question, really, is what Zimbabwe`s neighbors do next. That is the most important thing in the coming hours.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Neil Connery in Harare for you.
It is 23 minutes past midnight here in Abu Dhabi. You`re watching Connect the World. Coming up, a free man -- well, it`s a question. We take a look at the implications of Edward Snowden`s temporary asylum being granted by Moscow on U.S.-Russia relations. That, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: That`s the skyline here in Abu Dhabi with the UAE flag flying just in what is a fairly sultry windless night.
You`re watching CNN. I`m Becky Anderson for you.
Let`s move on, shall we, to Snowden. He`s a free man, at least with in Russia and at least for a year after more than 38 days marooned in Moscow`s main international airport, Edward Snowden has left the building. Russia has given him temporary Asylum. He is now at an undisclosed location, we are told.
The American intelligence leaker is wanted in the United States on charges of espionage and stealing government property. And in the last 10 minutes, we`ve learned that his father now plans to travel to Moscow to see him.
Well, Snowden was given the necessary papers to enter Russia less than two days after another American who revealed government secrets, Bradley Manning on the left of your screen, was found not guilty of the most serious charge against him, aiding and abetting the enemy.
Well, here`s how the White House is reacting to Russia`s decision on Mr. Snowden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are extremely disappointed that the Russian government would take this step despite our very clear and lawful requests in public and in private to have Mr. Snowden expelled to the United States to face the charges against him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All right. Let`s get the view from Moscow Now. And speak to Phil Black who is at the bureau there.
We`ve known, Phil, that Snowden`s temporary asylum has been in the works for some time. Why today? Is it clear?
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It`s not, Becky, no. It`s an interesting question. And I put it to Edward Snowden`s Russian lawyer just within the hour, actually. And he had no real clear answer for this other than to say that he`s been working very hard lobbying the federal migration service, making the case that Edward Snowden has a very clear case for temporary asylum in this country. And in his view, he says, this was just how long it took to process. And if anything, he says, it was actually fast tracked, because he says this particular government department could have taken up to three months to make this decision. Instead, they`ve made it in a matter of weeks.
ANDERSON: Where is he now?
BLACK: That`s not clear, either. Somewhere safe in Moscow is the official line from his lawyer throughout the day. And I pushed his lawyer on this again, too. And he gave away a little more, although he`s still pretty vague. He seemed to indicate that he`s staying with newfound friends somewhere in this city, friends that he has made during the time that he has been camping out at Moscow`s Sheremetyevo Airport.
He says that Snowden has received many offers of support, some financial, and some practical, some from Russians here, others from expatriates, or foreigners living in this country as well. And that he is now drawing on that well of generosity, he says. And these people are helping him, Becky.
ANDERSON: All right, Phil, very briefly. President Obama due to travel to Moscow next week. Is that still likely to happen? And what sort of damage is this causing to U.S.-Russia relations at this point?
BLACK: Significant damage. That meeting is under consideration. Putin and Obama were due to meet here in Moscow before a big G20 meeting in St. Petersburg. There was never a great deal of optimism surrounding it, because they disagree on so many substantial issues. And now you`ve also got the cloud of Edward Snowden hanging over all of this as well.
So there is certainly, you would think, a push for the meeting not to go ahead, perhaps as a protest move over the Snowden situation, but also just on the grounds that it was never likely to end in any sort of constructive agreement. So that`s why you hear the White House spokesman today saying they are now considering the utility of such a meeting, Becky.
ANDERSON: Phil Black in Moscow for you tonight.
AND in the wake of these Snowden leaks, criticism of the NSA program is mounting in the United States, in congress and around the world. Tonight on Amanpour, former U.S. director of national intelligence Dennis Blair discusses the agency and its approach. That is 30 minutes from now here -- right here on CNN, 22:00 London time.
The latest world news headlines at the bottom of the hour, as you would expect.
Also coming up, he may spend the rest of his days behind bars, but what about the scars that he has left on his victims? What do these words mean today? We`re going to analyze this man -- or certainly not that lady -- Ariel Castro, the perpetrator of the crimes against this woman.
Plus, an invention that could help lifeguards everywhere save more lives.
And despite their enduring political partnership, secret papers now declassified reveal Thatcher gave Reagan a good handbagging in 1983. That and more coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Wherever you are watching, welcome back. This is Abu Dhabi, half past midnight. You`re watching CONNECT THE WORLD, the top stories this hour.
The Ohio man who helped -- held three girls captive for more than a decade has been sentenced to life plus one thousand years in prison. One of Ariel Castro`s three victims spoke at the hearing, saying she spent, quote, "11 years in hell." Castro also made a statement, insisting his, quote, "not a monster, just sick."
The lawyer for Edward Snowden says the US intelligence leaker has left a Moscow airport today after Russia granted him asylum for a year. Snowden is wanted in the United States on espionage and other charges. The White House says it is extremely disappointed with the decision.
Zimbabweans are getting their first look at local voting results as the two main candidates exchange accusations and insults. President Robert Mugabe`s party claims outright victory, while opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai declared the election a sham. The election commission has until Monday to publish official results.
And an Italian court has upheld the jail sentence for former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in his tax fraud case, but three years of the four-year prison term are covered in an amnesty, and it is unlikely he`ll serve any remaining time in jail. House arrest is one possible option for him.
Let`s get more now on the sentencing of Ariel Castro. It was about four hours or so ago in what was a lengthy and emotional day in court. One of Castro`s three victims attended the hearing and confronted her kidnapper in court. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE KNIGHT, KIDNAPPING VICTIM: You took 11 years of my life away, and I have got it back. I spent 11 years in hell. Now, your hell is just beginning. I will overcome all that happened, but you will face hell for eternity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Ariel Castro himself also spoke out, saying he is not a monster, he is sick with an addiction. But at one point, he declared the sex that he had with his victims was consensual and that they would even ask him for sex. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARIEL CASTRO, CONVICTED KIDNAPPER, RAPIST: Most of the sex that went on in the house, practically all of it was special. This -- these allegations about being forced on them, that is totally wrong. There were times that they would even ask me for sex, many times. And these girls were not virgins from their testimony to me. They had multiple partners before me, all three of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Let`s get more from Martin Savidge, who is outside the courtroom. And these, pretty shocking allegations that Castro made, saying his -- what, well, basically treating his victims not as victims and talking about how it was a sort of consensual environment. It just seemed mad, didn`t it? But just characterize or describe the atmosphere and the sense in court.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, his statement came towards the very end of the proceedings, and I think a lot of people just looked at them as absolutely sick and demented that he could make such allegations after he himself had committed such horrendous, horrendous crimes.
Keep in mind, Becky, that this was a plea deal that had been reached, so this was a sentencing hearing. There had been no trial, but in essence, the state wanted this to be a kind of trial, because they said the actions of Castro were so terrible that they wanted history to note them.
So, for hours they actually presented witnesses, they did have evidence that was presented, including a gun that Castro allegedly used to keep the women in line.
And they showed pictures of the home that showed they truly lived in a prison, that there were alarms that had been set up, that the windows had been boarded with heavy doors to prevent even light from getting in, and that ventilation came in only through holes that were knocked in the bottom of doors.
This is how three women and one child were held for almost -- well, in some cases, beyond a decade. But it was Michelle Knight who probably is going to be remembered the most. That`s the victim who spoke.
And it isn`t because of the deeds, the terrible things that Castro did. It was how she managed to show that court she has risen above it, at one point even saying directly to Castro that she can forgive him, but she will never forget.
And, in fact, most people looked at what is a very petite woman, but her strength seemed to fill that entire courtroom. She is no doubt a survivor, as are the other two women.
ANDERSON: Martin, thank you for that. Martin Savidge for you. I want to remind you how these events unfolded. Three young women, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight were held captive for more than a decade.
Authorities say that Ariel Castro abducted Knight first in 2002, then Berry the following year, and then DeJesus in 2004. It wasn`t until this past May that the three women, with neighbors` help, were able to escape Castro`s Cleveland home.
Castro was arrested and eventually charged with 970-odd criminal counts, including rape and kidnapping. One psychiatrist who`s an expert in trauma says the victims in this case also have a life sentence, because the horrific memories of their ordeal aren`t going away.
Let`s talk more now about the psychological impact of years of abuse. We`re joined by Dr. Tracey Marks, a forensic clinical psychiatrist.
And I know in the past, I`ve heard you refer to sort of post-traumatic stress syndrome, the likes of which soldiers get when they`ve been the theater of war. Can you just explain the sort of emotions, the feelings, and the life that these women face going forward?
TRACEY MARKS, FORENSIC CLINICAL PSYCHIATRIST: Well, no doubt it`s going to be very difficult. With post-traumatic stress disorder, people can suffer from that for years. I would expect given the amount of time that they were subject to this abuse that they probably have just this sense of dulling emotions and have very difficult time forming trusting relationships with people.
ANDERSON: Can I just play for our viewers and for you a couple of pieces of sound, here, from Ariel Castro today, and I want you just to talk to how the words that he used might affect these women going forward. I certainly know how they affected me. This was Ariel Castro with, let`s remember, Michelle Knight, one of his victims, in the courtroom. Let`s listen to part of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASTRO: I never beat these women like they`re trying to say that I did, and I never tortured them. Finally, I`d like to apologize to the victims, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. I am truly sorry for what happened. To this day, I`m trying to answer my own questions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: "I never beat these women like they are trying to say I did, I never tortured them." But then, he apologizes to what he calls his victims. He recognizes that they are victims, but he will not recognize his crimes. And to a certain extent accuses them at times of this consensual environment. How -- just talk me through the words you heard.
MARKS: Well, you mentioned what their reaction would be to hearing these words or hearing what he`s saying. They`ve probably been hearing this stuff for ten years. This is probably the same kind of stuff that he`s been feeding to them.
But I tell you, I`ve worked with sex offenders before, and they`re a very difficult bunch. And primarily one of the problems is they lack victim empathy, and they justify in their head all of these reasons why what they`re doing really isn`t that damaging. And he`s just classic, his statements are classic for this kind of justification.
ANDERSON: What about this? Let`s have -- let`s just have a listen to something else that I`ve picked out that he said earlier on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASTRO: A person that`s been tortured does not act normal and would act withdrawn and everything. On the contrary, they`re the opposite. She`s happy, all of the victims are happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: "A person that`s been tortured doesn`t act normal, they would act withdrawn and everything. On the contrary, they`re the opposite. She --" referring to Michelle Knight "--is happy," he says. "The victims are happy." Again, assess those words for me.
MARKS: Yes, it`s -- it`s all part of his twisted, distorted way of thinking about things that helps him continue and reinforce those behaviors. So, for example, someone like him could figure rape -- for someone who`s raped, that means tying them down at knife-point. But if she`s not -- if he`s not doing that, then it`s consensual. He was calling it consensual.
Torture in his mind may be someone in a chamber being hit or whatever, but he doesn`t see his behavior as torture. So, these are the things -- his image of using these words, "torture," "victim," all of that, it`s so distorted that he can`t even relate to people`s suffering.
ANDERSON: On a scale of 1 to 10, you`ve done a lot of this work, how much a monster is this man? He tells us he`s not a monster, he`s sick. What do you say?
MARKS: Yes, that`s one of those loaded words, "monsters." And -- but he is very sick. It would take a lot of work to kind of undo all of his -- his justifications, his -- the impulses that he has to do these things.
It is -- paraphilia is -- like masochism, sadism, and things like that, which is part of his behavior, are mental disorders actually. So, this is all -- this is an illness. But nonetheless, it`s so heinous, it`s hard for us to give people a pass because of this.
ANDERSON: His sentence, life in prison plus a thousand years. That`s where he will stay for the rest of his life. Thank you very much, indeed, for joining us.
Live from Abu Dhabi, you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Previously secret documents reveal historic fears of nuclear war, including a speech - - get this -- by Britain`s queen that might have been delivered if the unthinkable became real. The details just ahead.
And how one design student has created a new device that promises to save lives in the water. That coming up.
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ANDERSON: All right, we`re out of Abu Dhabi for you this evening, at 44 minutes past midnight. Now, as you may remember, last year, six South African rugby players drowned near Port Elizabeth. Although lifeguards were present, their rescue rafts did not get to the scene on time.
Design student and lifeguard Ross Kemp has now come up with a solution that could stop tragedies like these from happening. Have a look at this.
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ROSS KEMP, DESIGNER, ASAP: My name is Ross Kemp. I designed the ASAP watercraft when I was studying industrial design at Leicester University in the UK. I came up with the idea for the product while I was training as a lifeguard.
The quickest launch product they`ve got at the moment is a rescue board. The lifeguard would throw that into the water then paddle out using just their arms and, whilst in deep water, pulling someone onto the board.
ASAP is a small, one-person rescue craft, like a miniature jetski. It works by an electric motor. The whole idea of this intersection was to have a sloping platform where you can bring the casualty up onto it.
It would seem that there was an opportunity there to create something specifically for rescue persons from the start rather than adapting a leisure product. And also, it`s much cheaper than a jetski or rig. Of course, they could be charged by solar power.
I`m going to meet Ross Lovegrove, which is absolutely incredible, because he`s -- well, in my eyes, he`s a design legend. He`s a British industrial designer which is famous for things like his DNA staircase. He`s one of the guys that we learned about back at uni.
ROSS LOVEGROVE, DESIGNER. Hey.
KEMP: I`m Ross Kemp.
LOVEGROVE: Lovely to meet you.
What I appreciate here is you`ve made this, and that`s very admirable. Is it possible to look underneath it? What is the propulsion at the moment? It looks a little bit lightweight to me.
KEMP: Yes.
LOVEGROVE: What struck me initially was its scale. I think it`s good scale. It feels right. Secondarily, when we lifted it, it was lightweight. Very manageable, and that can go lighter. This does feel alien to me. It fells added. And of course, holistic integration is everything. If you look at anything from a dolphin right through, there`s nothing added.
KEMP: My starting point on the next step is going to be having an enclosed impeller, which is part of the bottom hull so there`s no chance of --
LOVEGROVE: So, what would you do? Would you blend it out?
KEMP: Yes, that`s it, yes.
LOVEGROVE: It`s interesting, isn`t it? Because you know immediately how you`d draw that, wouldn`t you? The body lines that you create, these uninterrupted lines that feel like they`ve been eroded by use.
KEMP: Yes.
LOVEGROVE: You know that thing, like a pebble on the beach? When you go into it, you immediately lock into that position. Also, the lifeguard feels secure in some way. I think that`s quite important. I would make 3D printed models that would -- that you can see three dimensions very easily.
Design in my world is where you use terminology and you make form that people immediately understand and act upon.
KEMP: To be able to sit down with the man himself is an amazing experience. He was talking about thinking outside the box, but Ross Lovegrove really thinks outside that area, as well. He really goes out there. And it`s his -- just the way he thinks is so brave that he`s not constrained by if it would be possible.
LOVEGROVE: What makes great design is great thinking, and that`s where there`s a fearless approach to what doesn`t exist. What`s remarkable about design is that it`s a field of total innovation and invention. What man thinks ultimately becomes reality.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: The latest in our Blueprint program. Coming up after this short break on CONNECT THE WORLD, Margaret Thatcher`s Panda Mission. Some secret British government papers released shed new light on the 1980s. We are back in 60 seconds, don`t go away.
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ANDERSON: This is Abu Dhabi. I`m Becky Anderson. I want to take you back some 30 years, now, and some historians will tell you that back then, a nuclear world war had become a scary possibility. And it`s now been revealed that Britain even made preparations for the queen to deliver a speech to her country in the event of war. Take a listen to what we now know.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): In the words of the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, never perhaps in the post-war decades was the situation in the world as explosive as in the first half of the 1980s. 1983 was particularly tense, as American president Ronald Reagan denounced the Soviet Union as the "evil empire."
It was a time when Americans crowded around their TVs to watch the film about nuclear war, "The Day After."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they fired first and we just got our missiles out of the ground in time.
(SIRENS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not an exercise.
(SIRENS)
ANDERSON: That same year, the United States also moved additional weapons into Europe and began the Star Wars project, a space-based system intended to shoot down enemy missiles.
HENRY KENDALL, UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS: In peacetime, such a program would enhance the defensive-offensive competition and would not lead to a quieting of hostilities but rather to their aggravation.
ANDERSON: Indeed, tensions were so high that protests against nuclear weapons erupted around the world, and it`s now been revealed that in Britain, civil servants penned a speech for Queen Elizabeth in the event of World War III. In the planned broadcast, Her Majesty prepares her country for what she calls "the madness of war."
"The enemy is not the soldier with his rifle," the speech reads, "nor even the airmen crowding the skies above our cities and towns, but the deadly power of abused technology."
Queen Elizabeth also expresses her fears for her own family. "My beloved son Andrew is at this moment in action with his unit, and we pray continually for his safety and for the safety of all servicemen and women at home and overseas."
The classified speech has only just been released by Britain`s National Archive and was written as part of a disaster planning exercise. Fortunately, Her Majesty never had to deliver it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: An intriguing look back as the lid is lifted on a very tense time in the UK and, indeed, in the world. Joining me now, an historian and writer who knows all about 1983. Taylor Downing produced the award-winning TV documentary "1983: The Brink of Apocalypse" about the events leading up to one of the most dangerous moments in history, and he joins me now from London.
Were these war games exercises that the civil service in the UK were penning, including this speech prepared for the queen, were they justified, given the context of what was going on?
TAYLOR DOWNING, AUTHOR, "COLD WAR": They most certainly were. It was an incredibly tense period. As we`ve just heard, Ronald Reagan was spending a trillion dollars a year on defense expenditure, it was increased 50 percent each year in the early years of his reign.
The Soviets were very, very nervous. They had a KGB project that was watching the West for every sign that might indicate a suggestion that war was being prepared. There was tension in the air over the shooting down of the Korean airliner, KAL 007, 269 innocent people were shot down by the Soviets.
There was tension over Grenada, the Commonwealth island that Reagan invaded without telling Margaret Thatcher, as we also heard in the -- as was also revealed. That story came out in the archives this morning as well.
So, it was a very, very tense time. And although this wasn`t a speech that was actually intended for delivery, it was purely part of an intelligence exercise, it was in a year where we probably came nearer to nuclear confrontation than in any other year, including even the -- I would argue including even 1962 and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
ANDERSON: Fascinating stuff. Taylor, our viewers may think back, if they were around in 1983, and say hang on a minute. I seem to remember that Margaret Thatcher of the UK had a super-special relationship with Ronald Reagan at the time. Do these papers reveal that perhaps it wasn`t quite as close as we`ve come to believe in the recent past?
DOWNING: I -- what is revealed in these papers today is specifically the events in October 1983 over the invasion of Grenada. Grenada was part of the Commonwealth. Therefore, it was sort of -- Britain had an interest in the territory.
And Ronald Reagan only gave her a few hours notice. He called her in the middle of the night just before the dawn invasion was going to happen. Britain was really quite outraged, and this was certainly a sort of down point in the special relationship, if you like.
In the main, they got on very well together, Reagan and Thatcher. He admired her and she certainly looked up to the leadership that he provided to the whole of the Western world. But this was a down point.
In the next month, in November 1983, there was a NATO exercise that the Soviets misunderstood, and they thought -- this was an exercise practicing the process of launching nuclear weapons on the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union misinterpreted this and thought it was a real attack being prepared on them.
And the leader, the elderly Soviet leader Yuri Andropov spent a night with his finger literally hovering over the nuclear button. He was in a clinic outside Moscow, and the whole apparatus for launching nuclear weapons were taken to him. And as I say, he spent a night with that finger hovering on the nuclear button
ANDERSON: That is remarkable.
DOWNING: It was a terrifying time. So, it`s interesting --
ANDERSON: Is it --
DOWNING: -- that this speech was sort of thought through and prepared.
ANDERSON: We reminded our viewers in my report there that this was a time when Americans crowded around their televisions to watch the film about nuclear war, "The Day After." So, what you`re saying is that that was closer to reality than perhaps even those watching their TV sets in those days could have known.
DOWNING: Absolutely. It terrified people. There hadn`t been a film as realistic as this, and the film only really showed a fraction of what would have happened in the holocaust that would have followed a nuclear assault upon the United States or upon Europe.
Europe felt at this point very much sort of in no-man`s land between the two super powers and felt that had there been a nuclear exchange, it might have been over European territory rather than over Soviet or over American territory. So, we felt very much the sort of piggies in the middle, if you like. It was a terrifying time --
ANDERSON: What have we learned?
DOWNING: Well, what have we learned? I think we`ve learned through these papers revealed today that nations are always going to look after their own interests first of all. That`s what the Americans were doing in invading Grenada and that`s really not very surprising. I don`t think that`s very different today from the situation 30 years ago.
What I think we`ve learned, though, is that 30 years ago is not a long time. A lot of us can remember what we were doing in that autumn, in that summer and autumn of 1983. It`s not a long time ago. But fortunately, the world at least isn`t faced with quite the same nuclear Armageddon anymore. As Annie Lennox sang in 1983, "Sweet dreams are made of this."
ANDERSON: Taylor Downing, fascinating stuff. Margaret Thatcher being urged to use a trip to China to acquire a female giant panda for London zoo also revealed in those papers, perhaps not quite as important as what we learned tonight. I`m Becky Anderson. Good evening.
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