Channel 4 News- “A former member of the Iranian basij militia tells Channel 4 News that he was jailed and mistreated for refusing to assault opposition protesters.

“There was a table. I stood on that table for some hours with my hands tied and a rope around my neck. They came a few times and said they’d come to execute me now, or in an hour.”

The words of a former member of Iran’s basij militia who refused to participate in the brutal crackdown on opposition supporters after the disputed presidential elections in June 2009.

Before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today, the Iranian representative said torture was illegal in Iran.

But Ali, not his real name to protect his identity, has talked to Channel 4 News international editor Lindsey Hilsum about the harsh treatment he said he endured when he objected to the tactics used against critics of the Iranian regime.” (Read the rest of this story here.)