Exposing autocracies is Nicaragua and Russia

Amanpour

CNN

News

4.1 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 February 2023

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Exposing autocracies is Nicaragua and Russia It’s a dirty trick used by autocracies across the world: taking their would-be opposition off the street and throwing them in jail, stopping any other presidential candidacy from taking root. Tonight, we look at Nicaragua and Russia, where those tactics have been employed by the countries’ rulers. First, to Nicaragua, where President Daniel Ortega’s drive to stay in power has grown increasingly repressive over the years. He’s put hundreds of political prisoners behind bars, but on Thursday – in a surprise and cynical move – he simply got rid of them. 222 prisoners were freed and then essentially deported to the United States, stripped of their citizenship and banned from ever running for public office. Among them were Julian Sebastian Chamorro and Felix Maradiaga. They both had presidential ambitions, before being put behind bars, and they join the show from DC. Next, to Russia, and another imprisoned democracy activist: opposition leader Alexey Navalny. Few people know Navalny better than our next guest, Maria Pevchikh, who has worked with him for a decade and was with him in Siberia when he was poisoned. Also on today's show: Derek Kilmer and William Timmons from the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello everyone and welcome to Ammanpur. Here's what's coming up. I was sentenced to 13 years in prison without any proof.
0:13.0	Nicaragua, political prisoners arrive in the United States after a surprise
0:19.0	release by their autocratic President Daniel Ortega.
0:25.8	I speak to Juan Sebastian Chamorro and Felix Maradiaga who spent almost two years behind bars.
0:33.0	Then, my message for the situation that I am killed is very simple, not give up.
0:42.0	Poison but not dead. I'm killed is very simple not give up.
0:43.0	Poison but not dead.
0:45.0	An inside look at Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny
0:49.0	and the hunt for his would-be assassin.
0:52.0	I talk to his coworker and and confident Maria Pevchick
0:55.3	about the Oscar nominated film, Navalny.
0:58.4	Plus, most Americans have a sense that Congress is a bit of a fixer upper.
1:02.2	Congressman Derek Kilmer and William Timmons
1:05.0	talked to Michelle Martin about modernizing an age-old institution. Oh, Welcome to the program everyone. I'm Christina Manpur in London. It's a dirty
1:31.2	trick used by autocrats across the world, taking there would be
1:35.4	opposition off the streets and throwing them into jail, thereby stopping any
1:39.9	other presidential candidacy from ever taking root.
1:43.3	In a moment we'll look at the case of Russia's jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who survived
1:49.3	a poisoning several years ago, but first to Nicaragua, where President Daniel Ortega's drive to stay
1:55.5	in power has grown increasingly repressive over the years he has put hundreds of
2:01.0	political prisoners behind bars but on Thursday in a surprise
2:05.8	and perhaps cynical move he simply got rid of them.
	...

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