Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Recovery Efforts Begin in Storm-Ravaged Southeastern U.S.; California's Historic Snowfall and Rainfall Totals; Classified Documents Found at Biden Think Tank Office; Explosions Rattle Kyiv and Other Ukrainian Cities; Iran Executes British Iranian National; Missing Mother Reported Husband's Death Threat in 2014; Footballer Imprisoned in Iran Asks for Help; China's "Protest Prophet" Is Missing. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired January 14, 2023 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not out of the woods yet. The threat to communities remains and waters will continue to rise even after these storms have passed.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): The already drenched state of California is bracing for even more storms. We'll have a report from the CNN Weather Center with a preview of this weekend's weather.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): And new details in the case of the missing Massachusetts mother, what she told police nine years ago about her husband. Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): A huge explosion in the disputed Ukrainian city of Soledar as Russia claims it has captured the city, this is amid new attacks in Kyiv. We'll have a live report from Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: And we begin with extreme weather across the United States. In California, more than 25 million people are under flood watches this weekend, including the entire Bay Area, Central Valley and central California coastline.
More waves of storms fueled by a strong atmospheric river are expected this weekend and into early next week. They will bring new rounds of floods, mudslides and strong winds. The governor of California says he is waiting for a federal disaster declaration from President Biden as his state prepares for the next round of storms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): California is the size of 21 state populations combined. We're dealing with scale that we've never dealt with, being in the central valley again tomorrow, central coast yesterday, northern part of the state last few days. And that is why we have requested the major disaster declaration from the Biden administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Across the Southeast, families are picking up after dozens of reported tornadoes swept through the region on Thursday. At least seven people died in Alabama.
There was extensive damage also here in Georgia; a 5-year-old boy was killed after a tree fell on a car he was in. And falling debris also killed a state employee.
CNN has reporters across the U.S. covering these weather developments. Veronica Miracle is in San Francisco; Ryan Young is in Selma, Alabama, where families are surveying the damage from deadly tornadoes,
(WEATHER REPORT)
[05:05:00]
BRUNHUBER: Let's take a closer look at the U.S. Southeast and the aftermath of the devastating storms that swept through the area on Thursday. Georgia and Alabama were hit hardest with at least nine deaths reported between the two states.
Tornadoes flattened buildings in some communities and it is expected it will take days to survey all the damage. Ryan Young reports from central Alabama.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOV. KAY IVEY (R-AL): The roofs are just gone. And trees were like toothpicks. And there is a lot of work to be done here.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alabama Governor Kay Ivey visiting Selma today, witnessing the catastrophic damage left behind by violent tornadoes that ripped through the state Thursday afternoon. Residents left without homes and businesses.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a lot to take. I've been trying to salvage what I can all day and it is just hard. It is hard.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God, you all look. Oh, my God, this is the building beside us.
YOUNG: At least nine deaths have been reported following the severe storms that spawned more than 45 reported tornadoes across the southeast. Seven of the deaths in Autauga County, Alabama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a very intense storm and may have even been on the ground more than 50 miles.
YOUNG: Alabama residents describing the sound of the storm as something like no other.
ALDRICK LANG, MOUNT VERNON, ALABAMA RESIDENT: Just out of nowhere, I heard a sound I've never heard before, it sounded like a freight train come through here and the wind picked up so strong, I had to jump out and I ran because everything was shaking like never before.
TREY TYALOR, ALABAMA RESIDENT: It is a sad day for Selma. We've got a lot of healing to do here.
YOUNG: Many roads are blocked with fallen trees and debris making it unsafe and difficult for some residents to get back to assess damage at their homes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have not been able to get back there so see what it looks like. The road that leads to my house is blocked and I couldn't even go around other way.
YOUNG: In Georgia, a five-year-old boy was killed when a tree fell on a vehicle he was traveling in.
GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): Unfortunately, it has been a tragic night and morning in our state.
YOUNG: Tens of thousands of customers in Alabama and Georgia are still without power and officials are warning residents that just because the storm is passed, the threat of the damage from the storm has not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is still some wind and at front moving through. So anything that is loose will still fall.
YOUNG: These massive storms had an impact across Alabama and Georgia. You can see just how powerful the storm was.
Somebody who was inside this store said the roof was blown off, windows were blown out and they had to get down on the ground for cover.
When you look to the side here, you can still see cars that are trapped under the roof that was peeled off this building. Luckily, no one in this area died. We do know at least seven people died nearby here. but right now people are wondering how long it will take to put all this back together-- now back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: We're learning more about the private office where
President Joe Biden's classified documents were found. CNN has obtained this floor plan of the think tank Biden used after leaving the White House in 2017.
It shows his former office highlighted in blue there and, in yellow, you see three closets, one of which is believed to be where the first documents were discovered. A source told CNN that the documents included U.S. intelligence memos and briefing materials on topics, including Ukraine, Iran and the U.K.
There were also briefing memos for calls with world leaders and a memo from Biden to President Obama.
[05:10:00]
BRUNHUBER: A special counsel has been appointed to review the handling of documents. CNN's Jessica Schneider reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We're capping a week where yet another special counsel has been appointed by the attorney general, this time to investigate classified documents found at President Biden's home and private office.
Our team has learned that the documents date from Biden's time as vice president and specifically 10 classified documents. They include U.S. intelligence memos and briefing materials that cover topics like Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom.
This newest special counsel, Robert Hur, he is specifically tasked to look into the potential unauthorized removal or retention of those classified documents in a potential criminal probe. But of course, current DOJ guidance is that a sitting president cannot be charged with a crime.
So the attorney general explained the special counsel appointment was warranted because of the extra circumstances, because another special counsel is investigating president Trump for possible obstruction of any attempts to return that large amount of classified materials found at his properties.
And, of course, also the DOJ is really trying to distance itself from accusations of partisanship. But of course, Republicans and their new majority in the House have already pounced.
In fact, House Judiciary chair Jim Jordan is already calling for an investigation of the Justice Department for its handling of this probe into Biden's classified documents. So certainly a lot to come in the weeks ahead -- Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: And we're getting reactions from both Democrats and Republicans on how the Justice Department is treating Biden's case and as well as another probe involving former president Trump. Here is what politicians said last year about the Trump case and what they are saying now about Biden's scandal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHAEL TURNER (R-OH): This is so outrageous that this has to rise to the level of there better -- this better not be a clerical issue between the archivists and the former president.
I've been in the Oval Office with the president. And I'd be very surprised if he has actual documents that rise to the level of an immediate national security threat.
These accusations are just absolutely outrageous. This is completely mishandling of classified information.
Why did he have these documents?
When did he get them?
Did he get them when he was vice president and then take them with him when he left?
QUESTION: Will you hold hearings?
TURNER: It is possible we will hold hearings on them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): The fact that they were in an unsecure place, that is guarded with nothing more than a padlock or whatever security they had at a hotel, is deeply alarming.
I think it's (INAUDIBLE) whatever (INAUDIBLE). But we see no evidence of deliberate intent or obstruction of justice as we see at Mar-a- Lago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: In the next hour CNN will have more on this story in a live report from Washington.
Explosions rattle Kyiv as Russia launches a new missile barrage. Still ahead, we'll go live to the Ukrainian capital for the latest.
Plus Iran executes a British Iranian man days after his death sentence. What he was accused of and how the West is reacting.
And as authorities who hunt for a Massachusetts mother who went missing 10 days ago, a shocking allegation she made against her husband before they were engaged. We'll have the latest ahead.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:15:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: There has been a series of new strikes on the Ukrainian capital. The country's presidential office says a missile attack hit Kyiv this morning in addition two other Ukrainian cities. So far there are no reports of casualties.
That is happening while fighting rages in the eastern town of Soledar. This video shows a massive explosion that obliterated a building. Russia now claims that it is in full control of the town.
But the latest word from a local Ukrainian military unit is that it is still holding onto at least some of the town's outskirts. Scott McLean is joining us.
Explain to us what is the latest on the ground there.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Kim. Yes, so for the first time in almost two weeks, Kyiv was woken up to the sound of explosions. There were three very powerful explosions, heard very clearly in the city center today.
And we're getting more details on what exactly was hit. Officials say this was energy, critical infrastructure targeted. It is not clear whether some of these strikes were shot down or whether some of them actually hit their targets. It is still unclear at this stage.
There were also explosions reported in Zaporizhzhya and in Kharkiv as well, after what has been, here in Kyiv, a very peaceful period the last two weeks. Where I am right now is at a demonstration for the relatives of people who have been taken into captivity.
And you can see over here some of the signs, some of the pictures of some of the people who have been taken captive during the fighting. Many of the people -- I should say most of the people here, were from Mariupol, some from Azovstal steel plant, others taken captive in what happened with Snake Island.
So they are trying to draw attention to the government and to the world on the fact that they are still held captive and they would like to see more prisoner exchanges. I spoke to this family here, about this young girl here, her father, who has been in captivity now for more than three months.
And I asked her mother what it was like for the girl to not have a father around. And she said that, she is so young at this stage that, frankly, she has already gotten used to the fact that Dad is not around, which is pretty heartbreaking to hear.
[05:20:00]
MCLEAN: So everyone here, obviously some of them are able to have some level of contact with their loved ones who are in captivity. Others know that they are in captivity but they have heard nothing at all. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, just heartbreaking as you say and for so many families. And then Scott, so turning to one of the other big stories we're watching is the situation in Soledar. So bring us up to speed on that.
MCLEAN: Yes, so both the Russians and the Wagner private military contractor that is doing the bulk of the fighting there, they say that the town has been captured. But the Ukrainians obviously pushing back, saying that the fighting is still very much ongoing.
In that video that you mentioned earlier, it is very much evidence that that is the case. This video shows soldiers walking under a bridge along a roadway. And then they get to a building with a very distinctive green roof that CNN has been able to geolocate and that when you see a massive explosion hit that house.
Ukrainians believe this was some kind of barracks or temporary residence for the soldiers and they have been monitoring the site for a better part of a day before they actually went ahead and struck it.
We have also heard from the 46th brigade -- this is the part of the Ukrainian military that is doing much of the fighting there. And they say that they are holding on but there is heavy fighting in the town and that the Russians are trying to surround it.
There is also a soldier that we've been in touch with the last few days, who just two days ago told us that the window for him to get out of the city was closing fast. And as of yesterday, it appeared that that window had already been shut.
And he says that it seems that his unit in particular has been left to surrender. He said they won't be able to hide for very long, given the fighting that is happening in the streets.
And he compared it to the situation in Mariupol, where the Russians encircled the town, moved in and then eventually, after a long siege, took captive to any of the fighters who were left.
And so his expectation is that eventually he would be captured. He could only hope, like all of the people here, that there will be at some point some kind of a prisoner exchange.
BRUNHUBER: All right, appreciate the reporting there on the ground, Scott McLean in Kyiv.
Iran has defied international pleas and carried out the execution of a British Iranian citizen. State media is reporting that Alireza Akbari was hanged for a, quote, "corruption on Earth," a term used to describe a broad range of offenses.
He had been accused of spying for the U.K. and had once served as Iran's deputy defense minister and was considered a pro reform figure. Let's get more from Nada Bashir in London.
What more can you tell us about this latest execution by Iran? NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It had long been feared that this would be the fate of Alireza Akbari, despite the widespread international condemnation and outcries calling for his execution to be halted for his immediate release.
Today, of course, we have had that announcement from the Iranian authorities that he was in fact hanged for those allegations, that we've heard in the past from the Iranian authorities, of spying on behalf of the United Kingdom.
He was first reportedly detained back in 2019 on allegations of spying, according to a news agency affiliated with Iran's judiciary. He was identified by Iran's ministry of intelligence as working on behalf of MI-6 and providing important national information to the British authorities.
And in today's announcement, it was said that he had taken part in cooperation with British intelligence officials for large sums of money. Of course these are claims that Akbari and others have denied, saying is this a politically motivated act and widely condemned by the international community.
We've had reaction this morning from the British prime minister. He condemned Akbari's execution, saying it was a callous and cowardly act carried out by a barbaric regime.
We have also heard from the British foreign secretary, who confirmed the foreign office is providing support to his family. And did say that this would not go without a response from the United Kingdom.
And according to the foreign office, Iran's representative to the United Kingdom has now been summoned. And also the treatments he faced during prison, similar to others, reports of torture and mistreatment.
[05:25:00]
BASHIR: Take a listen to what the spokesperson had to say just yesterday.
VEDANT PATEL, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: We are greatly disturbed by the reports that Mr. Akbari was drugged, tortured while in custody, interrogated for thousands of hours and forced to make false confessions.
More broadly, Iran's practices of arbitrary and unjust detentions, forced confessions and politically motivated executions are completely unacceptable and must end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR: Amnesty International also condemned the execution and reiterated those concerns expressed by the U.S. State Department.
They say they received reports that Akbari was forcibly administered chemical substances and held in solitary confinement. And they call on the British government now to fully investigate his mistreatment as well as allegations of torture of other detainees currently held in Iran.
BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks so much, Nada Bashir live in London.
And later in the hour, we'll have a look at how Iran has cracked down on other citizens, including Don Riddell's exclusive report on an imprisoned soccer player speaking out about his sentencing. Here is a preview.
In an exclusive voice message obtained by CNN, he can be heard appealing for help from within the prison walls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In an exclusive voice message obtained by CNN with the help of the activist group Mamlakat (ph), he can be heard appealing for help from within the prison walls.
AMIR NASR-AZADANI, IRANIAN SOCCER PLAYER (through translator): Whoever you are in contact with, my friends, footballer friends, send this message to them, so they know what conditions I am under. Hopefully, one day we can be together again. My hope is first of all with God and then the people outside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: California is in for another soaking as more storms get ready to dump heavy rain and snow on the Golden State. We'll have details in a moment.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN MOGEN, MADISON MOGEN'S FATHER: I just -- I really can't -- I can't go down that road, not yet at least.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): The father of a young college student killed in Idaho speaks with CNN. That story and much more straight ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Checking our top story, people in California are bracing for another round of storms. More than 25 million people are under flood watches in the state this weekend, including the entire Bay Area, Central Valley and central California coastline.
A couple more waves of atmospheric river-fueled storms coming this weekend and into early next week.
Members of the San Luis Obispo county sheriff's office dive team and search and rescue team continue their search for Kyle Doan, the 5- year-old boy missing since Monday, when floodwaters pulled him from his mother's arms. The snow and flooding have wrought havoc across much of California and there's more trouble to come in the days ahead.
Our Veronica Miracle is in San Francisco.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The first of three storms is already coming into the area, moving eastward into central California. The second storm Saturday is expected to be even worse; 15 million people along the central California coastline are under flood advisories starting Saturday through at least Sunday.
In Monterey, an area that has already seen flooding, authorities there are very concerned that two major arteries into the area, Highways 1 and 68, could get flooded, which could mean that people wouldn't be able to get in and out of the area through the weekend. And emergency services would also not be able to access the peninsula.
So authorities are keeping an eye on that and trying to make sure that people will stay safe. And then there will be a third storm that enters the region on Sunday, which could bring more chances of flooding and rock slides as well as high winds and high surf advisories.
This comes after weeks of the state being battered by storms; just a deluge of rain with very little relief, it has caused an incredible amount of damage and destruction; 18 people already have died, including a 5-year-old boy who was ripped from his mother's arms in floodwaters. His body still has not been recovered.
Authorities very concerned that, this weekend, those three storms could bring even more damage here and destruction -- Veronica Miracle, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Again the number of people under flood watches across California is now up to 25 million and the death toll stands at 19. Stay with CNN, we'll have a live report from the CNN Weather Center in the coming hour.
We're learning new details in the disappearance of missing Massachusetts mother Ana Walshe as authorities continue to search for any sign of her. It has been revealed Walshe filed a police report nearly a decade ago against her husband.
She was reported missing January 4th. Her husband Brian was not charged but was arrested for misleading investigators. Jason Carroll has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Another disturbing detail emerging from this case, this time coming from a police report that was filed back in 2014 in Washington, D.C.
That is where Ana was living at the time before she was married. Apparently she told police that Brian Walshe, quote, "made a statement over the telephone that he was going to kill her and her friend."
Making that type of threat is a felony but Brian Walshe was not charged in this particular case. The reason for that is because again, according to the incident report, the victim refused to cooperate in their prosecution.
Meanwhile, there was a candlelight vigil held for Ana Walshe and her children. Those who came out here say their top priority are, in fact, her children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we're all clinging to some little bit of hope. But as days go by, it is such a sad situation. We are still hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we have a farmer's market every Thursday in the summer. And I remember seeing him down here with his children. And I feel -- I hope they are at peace. I hope they have someone helping they will through this.
QUESTION: The children?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The children, right. You know, the mother is gone, the father is gone, and, yes, I'm concerned about them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Walshe has three children; the youngest is just 2, the oldest is 6. Right now they are in the custody of the state and those whom we spoke to say what is their top priority is to make sure that the children stay together.
[05:35:00]
CARROLL: Jason Carroll, CNN, Cohasset, Massachusetts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: "The New York Times" reports that it has obtained online posts from Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the deaths of four Idaho college students. Posts were made while he was a teenager.
In one written in 2011 when Kohberger was 16, he reportedly wrote, "As I hug my family, I look into their faces. I see nothing. It is like I'm looking at a video game." Kohberger is currently held without bond and is facing four counts of
first-degree murder. He maintains his innocence. Anderson Cooper spoke with the father of Madison Mogen and asked if he was following this investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOGEN: It is too painful for me to -- I mean, I get the major news items, either from the -- well, the police were calling me every day and telling me updates up until that day. And since then, it has been a prosecutor, someone from the prosecutor's office, that stays in touch with me.
But I -- as far as reading or watching, I can't really do it. I get the main pieces of news I need to from other people. But especially the social media stuff, I just -- I really can't -- I can't go down that road, not yet at least.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Mogen also said the family is getting love and support from the public, calling it amazing and heartfelt and has shown him, quote, "a really good side of the world."
Still ahead, behind bars after an alleged sham trial, we'll hear from an Iranian soccer player swept up in the crackdown on dissent in Iran.
And China's restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of COVID, after easing them, China is again seeing a massive outbreak. More details next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:40:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): For months, protesters have been filling the streets of Iran, demanding reform. It has been one of the greatest threats for the authority of the Islamic Republic since its inception.
It's also fueling a crackdown not just on the streets but within the ruling elite with the clerical establishment promoting hardliners among their ranks and sidelining any government officials seen as reformists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Iran has carried out a series of executions recently of protesters. But so far, the soccer player Amir Nasr-Azadani has escaped the death penalty but ha been sentenced to 26 years in prison over the killing of three security officers. It happened in the wake of Mahsa Amini's death as the Iranian regime
tried to round up protesters. As Don Riddell reports, supporters say that Nasr-Azadani was forced into confession, put through a sham trial and tortured behind bars.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIDDELL (voice-over): Amir Nasr-Azadani has been living the dream as a professional football player in Iran. But within the last few weeks, his situation has turned into a nightmare.
After protests swept through the country in September, Iranian state media accused Nasr-Azadani of being a member of an armed group that was charged in the killing of three security officers in November. The government says that he confessed to participating in the crimes and now faces 26 years in prison.
Nasr-Azadani denies that he's guilty and his supporters claim that he made a false confession and was tortured in jail.
In an exclusive voice message obtained by CNN with the help of the activist group Mamlakat (ph), he can be heard appealing for help from within the prison walls.
NASR-AZADANI (through translator): Whoever you are in contact with, my friends, footballer friends, send this message to them, so they know what conditions I am under. Hopefully, one day we can be together again. My hope is first of all with God and then the people outside.
RIDDELL (voice-over): He's been in jail, since December, where his family is worried, for his safety, as the government has already begun executing protesters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
RIDDELL (voice-over): Last Saturday, the Islamic Republic executed two more young men, including the karate champion, Mohammad Mehdi Karami, bringing the total number of executed protesters, to four. That's according to the U.N.'s Human Rights Office.
Karami took up karate, at the age of 11 and went on to win medals at Iran's National Championships. But during anti-government protests, he was accused of killing a security officer.
And following a rush trial, supposedly based on a false confession, he was found guilty and executed just a month later. The human rights organization Amnesty International says that his trial was a sham.
His fate echoes that of the Iranian wrestler, Navid Afkari, who was jailed, for participating in protests and then executed in 2020. His defiance inspired other athletes, to speak out, as well, including the former karate champion, Mahdi Jafargholizadeh, who fled the country, in 2008.
MAHDI JAFARGHOLIZADEH, FORMER KARATE CHAMPION: I've got plenty of messages from a young 17-years-old, 18-years-old kids that they just - when they just see all these killing and torturing, on the streets and all that kind of stuff, they're just -- they're just telling me "OK, you know,," because they know me, because of my background, et cetera.
And they just say, "Yes, like, this life, it's done for me," like, "I'm going to kill myself."
RIDDELL (voice-over): Athletes in Iran seem to be battling a new fight, against what activists are calling an unjust judicial system. And they're making a plea, hoping the international community will pay attention.
NASR-AZADANI (through translator): I hope that they continue to support me, because all these really harsh sentences that were issued to me, I really do not deserve.
Me?
Twenty-six years?
Is it possible?
RIDDELL (voice-over): At this point, the recording cuts out.
Amir Nasr-Azadani says he'll have much more to say, when he gets out of prison. But for now, he needs others to be his voice. Otherwise, he could be silenced forever -- Don Riddell, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: And we should note: CNN reached out to Iranian officials for comment but didn't receive a response.
Some five weeks after China began easing its COVID restrictions, a new report in state media estimates more than 900 million people across the country have likely been infected by COVID-19.
Researchers say that nearly 80 percent of those infected reported feeling worse than having the flu. The data suggests 64 percent of people in China have been infected as of January 11th.
[05:45:00]
BRUNHUBER: In October, a man made history in China when he hung two banners protesting China's zero COVID policy above a highway. What would have been a simple protest in many countries was a nearly unprecedented act of defiance in the Chinese capital.
And it sparked a stunning wave of protests across the nation. Selina Wang has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The spark that would ignite China, two banners suddenly appeared on a busy overpass in Beijing. The words written on them, so brazenly defiant that they make the average Chinese person tremble. They called for an end to zero COVID and even Xi Jinping's rule.
A man disguised as a construction worker hung the banners days before the Communist Party Congress in October. Smoke was set off to draw attention, the shocking message even broadcast over loudspeaker.
Public displays of dissent toward the Communist Party and Xi Jinping are rare and dangerous in China. He was quickly taken away by authorities and hasn't been seen since.
Some in China are calling him a lone warrior and comparing him to the Tank Man, the unknown Beijing resident, who stood in front of the line of tanks in 1989 during the government's crackdown on peaceful, pro- democracy protesters in and around Tiananmen Square.
China watchers and activists widely believe the banner man is Peng Lifa, who has a few social media accounts under the name of Peng Zaizhou. CNN has not independently confirmed his identity.
Authorities scrubbed every trace of these images from Chinese social media. But the words lived on. They soon started to appear in, of all places, public bathrooms, because it is one of the only few places in tightly surveilled China without security cameras. This man graffitied the same slogans in a bathroom in southwest China.
"I had to wear a mask," he said, "and when I was writing, I was worried someone might catch me. It is so pathetic that we have been suppressed like this."
Even just scribbling anti-government slogans in bathrooms is dangerous in China. But what followed shocked the world. Less than two months later, the exact same slogans were chanted in unprecedented anti zero- COVID protests that erupted in cities across China.
"We want freedom, not COVID tests," they chanted. "We want freedom, not lockdowns. We want dignity, not lies. We want votes, not a ruler."
In Shanghai and Chengdu, some even shouted the most dangerous demand: step down, Communist Party. Step down, Xi Jinping.
This man who graffitied in a bathroom ended up participating in his city's anti-COVID protest.
"I had never imagined that, in China, we would see this," he said. "I realize that many people are just like us. They are not satisfied with this political system or the society."
When asked what he would say to the man who hung the banners, if given the chance, he said, "Everything he did was meaningful and he has had a great impact on us young people. He has shown us that, as human beings, we can call out our demands, we can protest against unfairness."
Police swiftly crack down on the protesters, violently pushing and dragging some, arresting many of the young, idealistic demonstrators.
Then, weeks after the protest, in early December, the Chinese government suddenly abandoned zero-COVID. Relief rippled through the country.
But then, seemingly overnight, the government went from harsh lockdowns to suddenly allowing the virus to rip uncontrolled.
Hospitals are now overwhelmed and crematoriums packed with people waiting to burn the dead bodies of their loved ones.
But many Chinese people are just happy to have their lives back. While the man who sparked the chants for "freedom, not lockdowns," may never be seen again.
WANG: We may never know exactly how much of an impact the protests had on the Chinese government's decision to drop zero COVID versus other factors like economic ones. But considering this government's obsession with control, for three years of the pandemic, this sudden and chaotic reopening has been shocking.
The protesters we spoke to have said that they will never forget the legacy of the man who hung the banners.
They say he planted a seed in the country and made people realize that, even if the outcome is not exactly what they had hoped for, they can still, in fact, speak out against injustices and make their voices heard -- Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: And we'll be right back.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(SPORTS)
[05:55:00]
(SPORTS)
BRUNHUBER: Thanks so much for watching. I'm Kim Brunhuber. You can follow me on Twitter. And for viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world, it is "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS."
