New York, Jan. 16 -- Amid widespread anti-governmental protests continuing across Iran, which its current regime dismissed as "foreign-backed", Iranian-American journalist Ahmad Batebi on Thursday slammed the Islamic Republic for making such claims, saying that he was coerced to declare himself a spy for the United States and had to suffer from severe torture, solitary confinement and forced confessions at the hands of the "demonic" Ayatollah regime.

Addressing the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Batebi said he was arrested as a student for participating in demonstrations similar to the protests currently unfolding in Iran, which Tehran has repeatedly dismissed as "foreign-backed".

He stated that he was sentenced to capital puni...