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Iran Releases Four Americans in Prisoner Swap; Hong Kong Bookseller Gui Minhai Shows up on Chinese State TV; Clinton, Sanders Take Gloves Off in Last Democratic Debate. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired January 18, 2016 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:00:00] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNNI: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.

Now, in just a few minutes, we're going to ehar from the U. S. secretary of State, John Kerry. We're going to hear his reaction after

four U.S. citizens were freed over the weekend in a prisoner swap. Now, these are the men who arrived in Germany on Sunday. You have The

Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, a former Marine as well as a Christian pastor.

Now, the White House says that a fourth man was released from prison. This fourth man decided to stay in Iran.

Now, a student who was recently detained was also released, but this was not part of the prisoner swap.

The journalist Jason Rezaian, we know that he's on his way to Germany. He was held in Iran for 18 months on charges of espionage, charges that

he's denied.

Now let's go straight to CNN's New Day program for more on the story.

(SIMULCAST WITH CNN USA)

[08:13:55] LU STOUT: And that was a live interview with the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on CNN's New Day speaking on the back to back

release of five American citizens, the lifting of nuclear sanctions and that was followed by the announcement of new penalties.

I'm Kristie Lu Stout here in Hong Kong, let's look at some of the other news headlines from around the world.

Now survivors are describing horrific carnage during Friday's terror attack and siege in a luxury hotel in Burkina Faso. One person who escaped

through thick smoke and a shattered window, says gunmen kept shooting at people who seemed alive.

Local reports say al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb claimed responsibility for the attack. Now 29 were killed, another 50 were

wounded. And this is further indication that jihadists are spreading their insurgency into more parts of Africa.

A missing Hong Kong book seller has suddenly reemerged on Chinese state TV with a confession. Gui Minhai who holds a Swedish passport said

he was guilty in a fatal hit-and-run that happened back in 2003.

Now, the state news agency Xinhua reports that the 51-year-old was convicted of drunk driving in 2004 and has allegedly been on the run from

Chinese police ever since.

On state TV, Gui claimed he had returned to China voluntarily to see his mother and he said he turned himself in to the Chinese authorities.

Now Gui and four other Hong Kong book sellers who sold works critical of China had gone missing in recent days and their disappearances caused an

international uproar and it triggered street protests.

Many supporters suspect the book sellers were abducted by Chinese agents. And this is strengthening fear that Beijing is encroaching on Hong

Kong's autonomy, which is guaranteed under a joint Sino-British agreement. And some free speech rights not granted in China are allowed in Hong Kong.

Publishing houses take advantage of those freedoms to print books that are banned in the mainland.

Now, our correspondent Will Ripley is in Beijing. Let's go straight to him for more.

And will, again, this missing Hong Kong book store owner has suddenly reappeared. He was paraded on Chinese State TV. Tell us more about what

he confessed.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Gui Minhai really shocked a lot of people when he appeared on CCTV, the major state-run channel here in

China. And he said that he chose to travel from his apartment in Thailand where he has a second home -- he also lives and works in Hong Kong. He

chose to travel from Thailand to Mainland China to atone for a crime that he committed and admitted to committing more than a decade ago. It was a

deadly hit-and-run accident where a young college student died.

And of course his family and friends and supporters and as well as many in the cyber community in China are doubting that this actually

occurred. Because his apartment was left pretty much untouched, his bed unmade, his medication and groceries sitting out in the open. And he

simply just vanished one day.

So, there's a lot of suspicion that Chinese agents in fact abducted him. There was a huge international firestorm after he and four others

disappeared, all of them associated with Causeway Books, which is the publishing company in Hong Hong that Gui Minhai owns.

And this company specializes in publishing salacious books about China's political elite. In fact, apparently, he was working on a book

about China's President Xi Jinping's alleged love affairs that was due to go to printing press fairly soon, and that's when he vanished in October

and hasn't been heard from until appearing this confession on CCTV.

And another interesting thing, Kristie, he's a Swedish national. He holds a Swedish passport, but on CCTV, he said he didn't want the Swedish

government to intervene on his behalf. He simply wanted to handle this on his own.

And I need to show you, too, Kristie, a live picture, because this topic is so sensitive here in China. You can see the television screen

that is now currently blacked out that is CNN's signal here in China.

They have censored us. They have blacked out our signal. They do not want this story to be reported in Mainland China. So, right now anybody

watching CNN is seeing that black screen there, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, the irony here, the missing Hong Kong book seller reappears and on state run TV, disappears on CNN, on televisions that have

access to CNN inside Mainland China.

And there's that other chilling detail about the circumstances of this bookseller's disappearance, Will. Did that confession address how he was -

- how was it he was taken from where he was in Thailand and brought into custody in China?

RIPLEY: And see that wasn't addressed in the confession or by the Xinhua News Agency, which also put out a report about this saying that he

did this all voluntarily, so there were no details about how he was transported from Thailand to China.

And it raises a lot of questions about China's influence over the Thai government and their ability to perhaps extract Chinese citizens. You know

that President Xi Jinping launched that operation where they have recovered hundreds of people who are accused of crimes here in China, such as

corruption and other crimes, they've brought them back here to face charges and these videotaped confessions are a huge part of the criminal justice

system here. Although, a lot of analysts and certainly friends of this particular bookseller believe that this confession was likely made under

duress.

LU STOUT: That's right, any more details on that, on what his supporters and especially his family members are saying about it? I

understand his daughter has been quite vocal.

RIPLEY: His daughter, his wife received several phone calls after he disappeared, but they were phone calls that were routed through different

countries so they were never specifically traceable to the location the calls were originating from. And if you try to call back the number, it

was a disconnected number that didn't work.

There are ere reports that there were men who visited his apartment and tried to take a laptop computer. The phone that they used was left in

a taxicab and then the men went away, according to reports that had been published in several news outlets.

And so his daughter has said that she doesn't believe that this confession is real. She thought it was a scripted statement that he was

either pressured or forced to make on Chinese state TV. And even in the phone calls to his family, he never revealed his location and it was --

the conversation were very vague, never specific about what was actually happening.

And so there are so many questions and so much suspicion, even here in Mainland China, because people who have a VPN and can access the Internet

and read about this, they certainly don't believe what was broadcast as a purportedly exclusive interview on the state news on the state run media

here was actually the real story.

LU STOUT: Yeah, a lot of people not believing this confession that was aired. Will Ripley reporting live from Beijing, many thanks, indeed,

for that.

And I was just informed that Will's live report was indeed just blacked out inside Mainland China.

Now, the first grand slam of the year, the Australian Open, that got under way as pro-tennis is being rocked by scandal on the sport's governing

bodies, they are denying claims that they covered up evidence of suspected match fixing.

The BBC and Buzzfeed News, they report that they acquired files implicating 16 players who have ranked in the top 50 over the past decade.

They say that those players were repeatedly flagged to officials over suspicions they had thrown matches.

The reports did not name names. Now, we're going to have a lot more on this story on World Sport in about 20 minutes from now.

You're watching News Stream. Still ahead, a deadly attack in the capital of Indonesia reveals a growing threat in the country. And now

evidence ISIS is trying to expand its reach there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:25:09] LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now, the death toll from last week's terror attack in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta has risen to four after a victim in hospital died.

Authorities say a Southeast Asia branch of ISIS was behind the deadly attack. As senior international correspondent Ivan Watson reports

Indonesian officials now warn there's a push on to expand the terror group's reach.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Suicide bombers strike in broad daylight. A deadly terrorist attack outside a

Starbucks in the Indonesian capital on Thursday carried out by Indonesian members of ISIS.

The mastermind behind the attack, Indonesian authorities say, a 32- year-old radical named Bahrun Naim, who was arrested in 2010 and served

time in prison for possession of ammunition.

Police accuse Bahrun Naim of leading a Southeast Asian branch of ISIS in Syria.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His vision is yet to, you know, to join the -- to unite all ISIS supporting in Southeast Asia, in Asia, Malaysia and

Philippines.

WATSON: This is a recruiting video made by Indonesian members of ISIS in Syria. Hundreds of Indonesians are believed to have traveled to the

Syrian city of Raqqa, ever since is declared it the capital of a self- declared caliphate in 2014. Among those to make the pilgrimage last year, Bahrun Naim.

(on camera): Do you think Naim is a terrorist?

(voice-over): This man is an expert on radical Islam and a former leader of the Islamist movement. That's where he says he first developed a

mentor-like relationship with Bahrun Naim who he describes as his little brother.

(on camera): Can I look at your phone, please?

(voice-over): He said the two men stayed in touch via text message long after the militant joined ISIS in Syria.

(on camera): This is the last message you got from Bahrun Naim?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WATSON (voice-over): December 3, 2015.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WATSON: He confirms that Bahrun Naim published blogs from Syria explaining how to make suicide vests and remote-controlled bombs. And he

said that last November, Bahrun Naim was wounded in an accident while working with chemicals.

(on camera): He was trying it make bombs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe.

WATSON: Or chemical weapons.

(voice-over): He says Bahrun Naim has become an inspiring figure to many young Indonesian ISIS supporters but he insists the 32-year-old is too

young to be the movement leader in Southeast Asia.

Indonesia has a long history of battling violent al Qaeda-linked Islamists.

(SIRENS)

WATSON: The police here say that ideologically this new generation of ISIS militants is far more dangerous because ISIS views fellow Muslims as

legitimate targets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ISIS is more dangerous in the case of Indonesia. Why? Because they are allowed to kill other Muslims.

WATSON: ISIS, a deadly new threat for the world's most populous Muslim country.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Jakarta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, several Americans who were detained in Iran are now in U.S. hands. More on the last minute scramble at high levels to get the

deal done.

And U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders take swings at each other at the Democratic Party debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:32:23] LU STOUT: Now, three Americans long held in Iran and released in a prisoner

swap are now at a U.S. military hospital in Germany. Now, Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian is among them. He was freed after being held for

18 months on espionage charges. Now, his brother spoke to CNN's Jim Sciutto from Germany.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ali, I got to ask you, first, how is Jason doing? I know you've spoken with him.

ALI REZAIAN, BROTHER OF JASON REZAIAN: Yes, I've spoken to him twice on the phone since he got here to Landstuhl. He seems in good spirits. He's

together. He really can't wait to get out there, see people, meet people, but right now he's got to focus on getting himself better and getting out

there.

SCIUTTO: Ali, you and I, we've spoken for months about this, and this has been an ordeal for you, for your mother, for Jason's wife,

Yeganeh. How are you dealing with this? The emotions have to be still raw.

REZAIAN: I think so. I think right now, it's just starting to set in. Doing interviews makes me -- gets me back to remember what's going on, but

I'm really happy, happy jason's out. I'm happy that he sounds like he's going to be able to make a recovery and get out there. I'm just looking

forward to bringing him home to California.

SCIUTTO: Now Ali, during the very minimal contact that your family had with Jason while he was behind bars, there were many things he could not

say. I'm just curious, has he shared any details about his treatment inside Evin prison, a notorious prison in Iran, with you since he's gotten his

freedom?

REZAIAN: You know, not really. We talked about a couple of things, talked about some folks here on the outside, Iranian folks, people that

cover Iran, and the only thing he said, Jim, is oh, I was interrogated about them. So I think there's going to be a lot to find out over the

course of the next couple of months when Jason's ready too but right now he just needs to focus on making sure that he's ready to come back into

society, be with folks, and get himself better.

SCIUTTO: Now it was a surprise to many that there were these secret negotiations going on that no one really knew about, to free Jason and the

other Americans held in Iran. Were you or Jason's family made aware at all throughout those talks that there was this secret U.S. government effort to

gain their freedom?

REZAIAN: We had been in touch with the state department. The state department kept me in the loop that there was ongoing conversations that

were happening, both during the nuclear negotiations and sometimes separately. So at a very minimal level, I knew that there were things going

on. I had to trust that the government was doing what was best and that it would bring Jason home as soon as possible.

[08:35:15] SCIUTTO: Now, we couldn't -- no one could help noticing that the Americans, that Jason, that Amir Hekmati, that Saeed Abedini, that

they were released or at least the announcement of their release was on the very same day that the nuclear deal was implemented and that Iran was

relieved of these punishing economic sanctions. Now the administration says, not related. They were two separate tracks here. But is it your view

that your brother was, in effect, a hostage to the nuclear negotiations?

REZAIAN: You know, I think we'll look back on that over the course of the next years and see what it is. I think that we were in a unique time. I

think that that brought together a unique set of circumstances that brought Jason to be held now for 18 months. And all those factors had to be

together for him to be in kind of this perfect storm and stuck there so long.

SCIUTTO: Well just in the simplest terms, do you think that Jason would be free today if that nuclear deal had not been completed?

REZAIAN: You know, I haven't really thought about it. I'm just really happy that he's out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Ali Rezaian says the first thing his brother asked for when he was released, was information. He wanted the to hear the news after

having only Iranian TV as a source of information for more than a year.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come, U.S. presidential candidates face off in the last Democratic debate before the first voters

have their say. We'll bring you some memorable moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. The first vote in the U.S. presidential race is two weeks away. And in the final Democratic debate before the Iowa

caucuses, it was intense. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, they sparred over everything from gun control to health care and even President Obama's

record.

Phil Mattingly has the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The gloves...

SANDERS: I think Secretary Clinton knows that what she says is very disingenuous.

MATTINGLY: ... are off.

CLINT ON: I'm not sure whether we're talking about the plan you just introduced tonight or we're talking about the plan you introduced nine

times in the Congress.

MATTINGLY: Just weeks before the first votes are cast, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders putting an exclamation point on a week of sharp sparring

on Sunday night.

CLINTON: The authorities convinced regulators to make those decisions.

SANDERS: Let me give you an example of how corrupt.

MATTINGLY: Clinton at one point in campaign unwilling to even mention Sanders' name, now targeting the Vermont senator's record on guns and how

he'll pay for his healthcare plan.

CLINTON: I have made it clear, based on Senator Sanders' own record, that he has voted with the NRA, with the gun lobby, numerous times.

MATTINGLY: Sanders moving to blunt both criticisms.

SANDERS: What her campaign was saying of Bernie Sanders, who has fought for universal health care for my entire life, he wants to end

Medicare, end Medicaid, end the children's health insurance program. That is nonsense.

MATTINGLY: Shifting on guns, a day before the debate.

SANDERS: What I said is I would relook at it. We are going to relook at it, and I will support stronger provisions.

MATTINGLY: And releasing his singer-payer healthcare plan just hours before taking the stage. Clinton criticizing Sanders for the taxes required

to pay for the proposal and its shift away from President Obama's signature achievement.

[08:40:17] CLINTON: There are things we can do to improve it, but to tear it up and start over again, pushing our country back into that kind of

a contentious debate, I think is the wrong direction.

SANDERS: We're not going to tear up the Affordable Care Act. I helped write it. But we are going to move on top of that to a Medicare for all

system.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Andrea.

SANDERS: A little bit more in taxes, do away with private health insurance premiums. It's a pretty good deal.

MATTINGLY: Sanders going on offense against Clinton's corporate ties.

SANDERS: You've received over $600,000 in speaking fees from Goldman Sachs in one year.

MATTINGLY: Clinton defending not just her stance on Wall Street reform but President Obama's, as well.

CLINTON: But he's criticized President Obama for taking donations from Wall Street. And President Obama has led our country out of the great

recession. President Obama's worked to push through the Dodd-Frank Bill and then to sign it was one of the most important regulatory schemes we've had

since the 1930s. So I'm going to defend Dodd-Frank, and I'm going to defend President Obama.

MATTINGLY: Sanders definitely turning a question on Bill Clinton's personal life into one of his best moments of the night.

SANDERS: We've been through this, yes, his behavior was deplorable. Have I ever once said a word about that issue? No, I have not. I'm going to

debate Secretary Clinton and Governor O'Malley on the issues facing the American people, not Bill Clinton's personal behavior.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And jump on over to CNNpolitics.com where our countdown to the Iowa Caucus is fully underway. There's plenty to see there, including

a recap of the debates in animated GIF form. You can find it all at CNN.com/politics.

Now, after a successful attempt last month, SpaceX tried once again to return a rocket to Earth in reusable form. Now, the plan was to land it

upright on a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean. And for a moment, the mission looked like a success, but then the rocket toppled over and

exploded as you see right there on your screen.

Now rockets provide the boost that allows spacecraft to take off. And they are typically discarded after launch, but each rocket can cost tens of

millions of dollars. And if companies can figure out a way to reuse them, the cost of space travel, that would drop significantly.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere, World Sport with Alex Thomas is next.

END