Iranian Exile Exposes Torture, Calls for Global Support Against Regime

Iranian-American journalist Ahmad Batebi, addressing the UN, criticized the Iranian regime for branding protests as 'foreign-backed'. Batebi, once sentenced to death, revealed torture tactics used to force false confessions. He urged global action against what he labels a 'demonic' regime oppressing its people.

In a powerful address to the United Nations Security Council, Iranian-American journalist Ahmad Batebi condemned the Iranian regime's portrayal of ongoing protests as 'foreign-backed'. Batebi recounted his harrowing experience of being tortured and coerced into false confessions, highlighting the severe human rights abuses under the Islamic Republic.

Batebi, who was arrested as a student protester, described his sentencing to capital punishment and years of solitary confinement and torture, including mock executions. He explained how the regime forced him to appear on state television and falsely confess to espionage, a tactic still in use against demonstrators today.

Escaping to the United States, Batebi called for concrete international support for Iranian protesters, warning that failure to act could lead to mass killings. Despite Iranian authorities' claims of foreign involvement in the protests, activists and rights groups continue to deny these allegations while reporting thousands of detentions.

(With inputs from agencies.)