>> good evening. not since the cold war has the conflict between russia and the west been as sharply drawn as the way president biden and vladimir putin today in dueling speeches just three days before the anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine. and a day after, the president's surprise visit to kyiv. >> one year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of kyiv. well, i've just come from a

visit to kyiv, and i can report that kyiv stands strong! kyiv stands proud! it stands tall, and most important, it sends free. >> speaking today in warsaw, the capital of a former soviet bloc countries, the president pledged unflagging merrick in support for nato, which poland joint in 1999 and it was firm commitment to ukraine. >> one year into this war, putin no longer doubts the strength of our coalition. but he still doubts our conviction. he doubts our staying power. he doubts our continued support for ukraine. he doubts whether nato can remain unified. but there should be no doubt. our support for ukraine will not waver. nato will not be divided, and we will not tire. >> the president also accused russia of committing crimes against humanity in ukraine. vladimir putin, for his part, gave this as his rationale for

the war. turning during his annual address to the russian people. >> [interpreter] the elite of the west do not conceal their ambitions. which is to strategically defeat russia. what does that mean? it means to finish us off, once and for all. and to make local, they do that by making local conflicts into much wider and bigger ones. >> the russian leader also repeated the standard trumps about ukraine's, quote, neo-nazi regime. in language reminiscent of the cold war, he announced that russia would suspend participation in new start the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty with the u.s.. somewhat confusingly, though, this was followed by russia's foreign ministry saying that russia would still abide by provisions in it, limiting the size of russian and american strategic and nuclear arsenals. as for president biden, he -- his message down to one central

fact of the matter in a single existential reality for ukraine. >> president putin chose this war. every day, the work continues is his choice. he could and the war with a word. it's simple, if russia stopped invading ukraine, it would end the war. if ukraine could stop defending itself against russia, it would be the end of ukraine. >> well, we have extensive reporting tonight from cnn's kaitlan collins with the president in warsaw. christiane amanpour, who spoke today with cohn's president, fred pleitgen in moscow, first award and key. we will start with kaitlan collins. so, how does the white house feel of president biden's speech went over, particularly given vladimir putin -- >> anderson, they seem to think that he set out what he came here to do, which is one warned that democracy is at stake at a global scale. and to, to reiterate u.s. support for ukraine, therefore turning them into nato support, saying that it is unwavering,

that it's not going to go away, that it will be here for the quote that he's been using, as long as it takes. but also, he used this speech to push back on putin pretty forcefully. especially, you know, just hours after we had heard from the russian leader, blaming the west with a conflict that's happening in ukraine, saying, that's why that's happening. president biden saying that that's obviously not the case, it's patently not true. and that if putin decided tomorrow to end the war, he could. but saying, obviously, that's not what's happening here. and it really seemed, you know, in these two speeches, vastly different world views. really the only thing they seem to agree on is that this is not likely to end anytime in the near future, anderson. >> what's been the reaction to putin's decision to -- new start treaty? >> i'm not sure they're totally surprised. they have been quick to note that it's not formally pulling out of the treaty. there really weren't any inspections happening anyway. the state department announced last month that russia was actually out of compliance with this because they had stopped happening during covid, they had never reschedule them. russia had kind of come up with some excuses of why they were

not conducting those inspections. and now the idea of actually letting an outside party come in and inspect these nuclear sites seems basically off the table. and i think what the white house is saying right now is it raises questions about what any kind of arms agreement looks like, going forward. they say it's irresponsible that putin made the announcement that he did today, saying that they're not going to participate in these inspections anymore. but it does raise the question of what happens when it's time to renegotiate a new one? because obviously, there's basically little to no trust between these two sides here on a pretty important matter. >> yeah, the president also announced that this new security assistance package for ukraine, what's in it? >> yeah, i think this is, like, the 32nd, this is the business package racing going to ukraine. this one is about half a billion dollars,. it includes a lot of what

you've seen before. ammunition, howitzers, these javelins. the two things it does not include is what zelenskyy has been the most vocal about lately, which is longer range missiles and the f-16 fighter jets. even though president biden was here in warsaw today, there was a sign saying, you know, send those f-16 fighter jets to ukraine. that's something they're still discussing. they have not made a final decision and don't seem to be, at this point, leaning towards doing so. the president did also announce today that in the coming days, the u.s. and other nato allies will be announcing new sanctions on russia. but it remains to be seen what those look like. even though putin today was talking about how the russian economy, he was arguing, is more resilient than a lot of people in the west believed it would be. at this point, with the sanctions that have been russia so far. >> kaitlan collins, appreciated. next, vladimir putin speech -- fred pleitgen is in moscow with more. >> so fred, we heard vladimir putin again from the conflict in ukraine a self defense, protect russia from western aggression. how did how is this speech received in russia? >> well, the vast majority of russians, anderson, quite frankly, are exactly in line with what vladimir putin said. it was interesting because we spoke to a pollster who said

that 80% of russians are on board with the kind of messaging that vladimir putin is providing. those are his popularity ratings. and if you look at what he said today, where he was essentially saying that russia had tried to prevent this conflict, but in the end, they had no other chance, there's a lot of russians who actually do believe that. there are people on the streets who we spoke to, who said exactly the same thing. and who also said they believe that russia is going to see all this through. i did speak with some people who are in russian politics, and a lot of them, quite frankly, it seemed pretty relieved that vladimir putin did not go any further than he did. however, there are also some pretty prominent russian military blockers bloggers who felt that he didn't go far enough and who actually wanted more mobilization, for instance, -- wanted a declaration of war against ukraine, anderson. >> has there been reaction from the kremlin, president biden declaring that ukraine will never be a victory for russia? >> yeah, there certainly has. actually got in touch with the kremlin -- dimitri peskov very late tonight, and he was essentially telling me that obviously, the russians feel quite provoked by some of the things that president biden said. it was interesting because he said to me that you cannot

speak about destroying russia, as he put it, without speaking of nuclear war. he said, there would be no winners in a nuclear war, but he, once again, reiterated what vladimir putin was essentially also saying, that the russians seem to believe that the u.s. wants to weaken russia and also wants to disintegrate russia as well. so, some pretty strong words coming out of kremlin tonight. big reaction to president biden speech, anderson. >> as you mentioned, vladimir putin also -- suspending his participation in new start nuclear arms reduction treaty. what are the potential implications of that from the n side >> yeah, i think there could be, it's a pretty big implications to that because of course, a tree like that also involves inspections of nuclear sites, for instance. so, the u.s. could verify, for instance, how many nukes the russians have in certain places. that's quite important and vladimir putin simply said, that's someone who's not going

to be happening. going forward, at least for the time that this treaty is suspended. and he said that that's happening because the russians blamed ukrainians for hitting a military base where russia has strategic bombers. last year, the -- southwest of russia, and he was claiming that certainly, without any sort of evidence, that nato helped ukraine to do that. and that's why the russians are saying that for now, they're suspending this agreement. however, the russian foreign ministry then came out later and said, look, they're suspending it for the time being, but it is certainly something that can still be reversed. nevertheless, there could be some real consequences. of course, we know, anderson, that the new start treaty was really on the ropes anyway. the u.s. was saying that the russians really weren't complying with it anyhow, and so, certainly this could be another big blow to a very important treaty, anderson. >> fred pleitgen, appreciate it. thanks. let's go now to cnn chief international anchor, christiane amanpour, in eastern poland. not far from the ukrainian border. so christiane, you've been speaking with leaders in eastern and central europe. how is president biden's message today with the firm

american support for nato, is that what they wanted to hear? >> they absolutely did and you are right, the munich security conference, i spoke to a lot of these leaders and today, the president of poland basically, as some said, part of the balance of power is shifting to the eastern europe, because they have been absolutely rock solid in trying to get everyone -- pretty much in the west. but to understand putin's desires, which he called, president due to called, imperialist. and so, he was really, really pleased when i asked him about how he read president biden's trip to ukraine, and also what he heard from him here today in warsaw. >> [interpreter] so, the very thing that -- traveled to kyiv, he was there. it sends an incredibly powerful signal. political and strategic signal. it's a demonstration of strength of the united states, indeed.

it is like saying that the american leader -- the leader of the free world is able to travel, even where war is raging, even to a place where there is a potential danger. he is not afraid because the united states is strong enough to protect him. >> and then he added that it also is a huge demonstration that biden, the president of the united states, was able to make this speech here in poland. and what he said was, it was really interesting. he drew a line from president reagan, alongside -- and the polish pope, of course, john paul the second way back in the 80s, as being responsible for helping pull down that iron curtain. all the way now to biden, who made the connection facing off against autocracy and dictatorship. again, in that form of soviet space. so, it was very historical for the polls, who suffered, of course, you know, russian aggression in their history. >> it's so interesting because in the past, there has been concern from, you know, a

number of's former soviet bloc countries that american, the west, -- to recognize a growing threat from russia. it sounds like they feel those concerns are certainly being addressed now. >> absolutely. and he was very colorful when he was talking about it. he said, i mean frankly, he said in the west, maybe you have romantic ideas about tchaikovsky, those three of, you know, the bolshoi ballet. for us, it's about being deported to siberia or having, , you know, the bolshoi ballet. for us, it's about being deported to siberia or having, you know, the soviet union takeover our nations during the cold war, which became the warsaw pact. and he explained that for them, freedom and independence, and sovereignty, is absolutely key and particularly the test for them, especially on this country's border, is ukraine. >> vladimir putin's speech, again, frame this conflict as this confrontation between russia and the west -- says they started, which is not the case. you think this was, i mean, was this a purely, for a domestic audience in russia, or do you think there's a larger geopolitical lesson that putin

is sending to the west? >> you know, anderson, i was quite baffled by this speech because it wasn't as militant as i expected it to be, in terms of laying out what putin saw as the future of this war. it was much tamer than when he came out on february 24th, or whatever, and warned the west not to get involved. it would be a mistake, of historic proportions. he started to saber-rattle with the nooks and things like that. and this, i do not think, was like that. what he did do was play what the russians have constantly started this war, and thecti russians, he had to get involved to stop them. of course, we heard president biden address that in his speech saying, at no point have we said that we are looking for the destruction of russia, for the disintegration of russia. that is not what is happening here. we are here to defend a sovereign democratic state, maintain its territory terrell integrity, and its independence. >> christiane amanpour, i

appreciate it. thank you. much more on all of this next, including cnn's clarissa ward in kyiv with more and help prudence words are being received in ukraine and nato's former supreme allied commander, wants to make russia's next signals on nuclear weapons. later, with the former president be indicted in georgia for attempting to overturn the election results? the grand jury -- has heard all the evidence, is speaking about the likelihood of that tonight, ahead. ten years ago, i invented the ring video doorbell for moments like that. and ring security cameras for moments like this. [ring floodlight cam siren sounds] [bear growls] and ring alarm with professional monitoring. ten years of reinventing home security, and tens of millions of safer homes. protect your home, the way i do. learn more at ring.com

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west to unleash a war. he certainly knows, otherwise sure do people from the hague and u.s. monitors that they verified more than 1000 civilian fatalities in ukraine since the invasion, including nearly 500 children. and the report also comes with a warning that the true number of civilians killed is likely thousands higher. as the reality that russians present did not speak up today, and that president biden did, we've got some perspective now from cnn chief international correspondent, clarissa ward, in kyiv tonight. clarissa, half of the speeches by biden and putin been received in kyiv? >> well, it's interesting, anderson. a lot of people here said that they weren't going to bother to watch putin's speech. zelenskyy, the president, among them. although he did later issued a statement saying that, quote, these people are communicating as terrorists. the only difference is that terrorists wear masks, and these guys don't cover their

faces. that was a view that was also put out there by one of his top advisers, who talked about how confused putin seemed and how irrelevant so much of what he talked about was in his obsession, as he said, with what he called not seize martians and conspiracy theories. so, clearly ukrainians feeling very strongly that essentially, russia and president putin putting forward just an alternate version of reality, which is in stark contrast to the response to biden's speech, which has been well received by those who saw it, very well received by president zelenskyy. he took to twitter, he said, thank you, potus, for rallying support around the world. kyiv stands tall and kyiv stands proud. >> is there any sense of what the ukrainians think or officials or think about vladimir putin's next up maybe. obviously, they've been waiting for the sort of major offensive. >> there is been a lot of concern, understandably, because they understand that 150,000 russian troops have

just finished training and already to be deployed into the battlefield. and they're already seeing that the russians are pushing quite hard along several front lines, particularly in the kharkiv region, in the city of kupiansk, also they've been making small gains, incremental games, but nonetheless, substantial, gains in the eastern city of bakhmut. and then other areas that ukraine has successfully managed to take back, like kherson in the south, are just being brutally shelled day in and day out today, anderson, five people killed in shelling there. another 12 people injured in that attack. so, a lot of concern, really, that there may be more provocations as well around the anniversary. they've actually recommended to schools that all schools go into remote learning for the next three days, just in anticipation of any potential attacks or provocations during the sensitive period, anderson. >> clarissa ward in kyiv, thanks so much. more now on where the war stands.

obviously, -- what vladimir putin said and did not say this morning about it. joining us is retired army general, wesley clark. cnn military analyst and former nato supreme allied commander. also cnn senior political commentator -- adam kinzinger. general clark, putin did not announce a new wave of mobilization, of -- into the armed forces as some hard-line russian blog military bloggers certainly wanted him to. why do you think that is? >> i think he wanted to dock that right now because he has other means of bringing in troops. you know, he has mobilized quietly more than 300,000 that he announced in october. and we know that he's putting out calls for -- college students, university students, to be pulled in. so, he has other means of -- right now, he doesn't want to take that burden on himself politically in dealing with the russian people. >> congress went, what message you think the russians are trying to send your? putin suspending participation in new start treaty, then

russia's foreign ministry saying that they've continued to respect nuclear weapons caps, and the suspension was reversed. >> yeah, i mean, i think that is as much for his own audience. like, new start has been kind of a problem for a while, in terms of trying to get around it and, you know, russia skirting some of the requirements, and so, i don't think this was a big surprise to us. and i think it's important, and i guess noteworthy, that they did say suspensions instead of pulling out. but look, we trust the russians on these issues anyway. i mean, that's a whole other thing. so, i think it's from the domestic audience. vladimir putin does not have a lot to stand in front of these people and brag about. he doesn't have a lot that he can stand up and sound tough about, which is probably why he spent an hour and 45 minutes of dribble trying to seem that way,

because look, this war is going to go on a long time. he doesn't value human life. and when you don't value human life, you just put them into the meat grinder over and over. >> yeah, that's what we're seeing. general, how solid is nato unity right now? >> i think nato unity is good, in terms of saying we're going to say with ukraine. but i think there are certain different perspectives on how the war might end, on how negotiations might unfold, on how soon and whether there would be -- additional tanks sent in, long range missiles. all that is is the noise underneath the nato unity. and i think the president understands, and certainly those of us who worked with nato understand, nato unity is a key factor here. so, we've got to move forward together. got to get the different perspectives harmonized and make these decisions

step-by-step. >> congressman, let me ask you. how unify do you think the american people are on this, or at least the politicians? because there have been, in some polls, over the past few weeks, softening support for sending more money and military equipment to ukraine, especially among republicans. i mean, anybody grow up with, you know, ronald reagan or came in of age with ron reagan republican party, it's kind of stunning to see the support among democrats versus republicans for u.s. involvement in the war in ukraine. >> this is what happens when you lack leadership. so, on foreign policy, the american people generally are willing to either go to war or give aid, or support our allies in war, as long as somebody stands in front of them and makes the case for that. i think joe biden needs to do a little better job at that. i do think his trip was great. that sends a strong message. but on the republican side, who, an elected republican politics, is out there making the case for the war? there may be a few, but i haven't heard them. and instead, what you see are these profit centers, whether they're blogs, whether they're other cable tv news hosts, that make a lot of money on creating fear on, like, owning the libs or whatever it is of the day. and that's what this war has become. the republicans, if they're

given the reason, and they're given the reason for this, they would be supportive. but there is no leadership in the republican party. it's been mind-blowing to me and, by the way, i think there's also the question of a lot of folks think we're just writing checks for ukraine, and haven't been explained the fact that a lot of this is just the value put on equipment. much of it -- that we're sending to ukraine. >> general, there've been a lot of arguments about whether we're seeing opinion russian offensive. there's been increase action in the east. we haven't seen the hundred 50,000 new conscripts in the battle zone yet. what do you think about this new offensive, when it might be? >> i think the relations are having trouble matching the forces, getting them up there. i think there's action taking

place that we don't see. electronic warfare, other things, maybe some train derailments inside russia. we don't see these things, but i think if it had been up to putin, he would've launched by now, or on the 24th of february, the anniversary. and we are hearing that this is going to slip a week or two, and they may get into the mud on this. so, this is still, although ukraine is extremely concerned about the potential thus far, mr. putin and his generals haven't been able to bring that potential to bear in this affair. >> general winds we, karen kinzinger, thank you so much, appreciated. coming up, new comments by the four women from that special grandeur in georgia investigating election interference by the former president. what she's now saying about whether he may face possible charges, next. ♪ what will you do? will you make something better? create something new? our dell technologies advisors can provide you with the tools and expertise you need to bring out the innovator in you. hi, i'm tony hawk, and like many of you, i take a statin to reduce cholesterol, but statins can also deplete coq10 levels. that's why my doctor recommended qunol coq10.

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>> in the last hour, the four person for the special grand jury in georgia investigating former president and his allies attempts to overturn the 2020 election spoke to cnn. emily corps was asked whether the former president might face charges. >> did you recommend charges against donald trump? >> i really don't want to share something that the judge made a conscious decision not to share. i will tell you that it was a process where we heard his name a lot. we definitely heard a lot about former president trump, and we definitely discussed him a lot in the room. and i will say that when this list comes out, you wouldn't, there are no major plot twists

waiting for you. >> kohrs also indicated that the grandeur recommended charges for multiple people. she wouldn't give an exact number, but agreed it was at least it doesn't. she said, quote, it wasn't a short list. for prospection of from cnn senior legal analyst, elie honig. he's also the author of the new book, untouchable, how powerful people get away with it. also with us, our chief political correspondent and co-anchor of cnn's state of the union, dana bash. first of all, why this person is talking on tv, i do not understand because she's clearly enjoying herself. but i mean, is this responsible? she was the 4% of this grand jury.

this is >> this is a horrible idea and i guarantee you that prosecutors are wincing watching her go on this. i was wincing -- >> i was wincing just watching her eagerness to, like, you know, hint at stuff. >> it's painful in that respect. this is a very serious prospect. we are talking about indicting any person. talking about potentially taking away that person's liberty. we are talking out potentially the former president, for the first time in this nation's history. she does not seem to be taking that very seriously. >> there's no reason for her to be out talking. >> no, it's a prosecutor's nightmare. mark my words, donald trump's team is going to make a motion if there is an indictment to dismiss that indictment, based

on grand jury and propriety. she's not supposed to be talking about anything, really. but she's really not supposed to be talking about the deliberations. she's talking about what specific witnesses they saw, what the grand jury thought of them. she says, some of them we found credible, some of them we found funny. i don't know why that's relevant, but she's been saying we found this guy funny, or interesting. i think she's potentially crossing a line here, it's going to be a real problem for prosecutors. >> -- and the former president's included is recommended indictments, that's unprecedented and obviously -- from former president, current presidential candidate. what does that mean for the next year or two in american politics? little on this actual case. >> you know, it's anything that has to do with donald trump is fraught with so much. and that is the political reality that every single republican primary voter is going to have to deal with. and, you know, i was talking to people in trump world today. one of whom reminded me that, you know, we are talking about georgia. but there is also new york, and there is also doj. so, he had a lot of things coming at him at once. historically, politically, so we're talking, like, the last seven, eight years, donald trump has been able to turn all of this to his political favor. and use it kind of as a, look, i'm just like you. i have the institutions coming

after me. you know, -- we've seen that with some of these statements even today. but in this time, when there's a lot of trump exhaustion in the republican electorate, not enough potentially to mean that he won't get the nomination, but there is much more than there has been since he's been on the scene. this kind of thing certainly won't help politically speaking. >> i want to play, ali, what the foreperson said also about mark meadows, the former chief of staff. let's listen. >> mr. meadows did not share very much at all. he was not very willing to speak on much of anything. he asserted his rights, under the fifth amendment, and under executive privilege. which he absolutely had the right to do. >> okay, again, just shocked. >> grand jury testimony is supposed to be secret. the only people in that room that we on the room of the grand jurors, like this person we just saw, prosecutors, and the witnesses. here, she's talking about the substance of mark meadows testimony. she -- has spoken on other outlets about the substance of other people's testimony and what the grand jurors made of that. i will say this, anderson. it's entirely clear, you don't have to be a legal expert, you don't have to have a ph. d. in psychology, that grand jury has recommended an indictment for donald trump. i think it's also >> it's up to the da, though.

>> it's up to the da. i think it's a virtual certainty that she will seek an indictment of donald trump, reading her own public statements, they've not been as over the top as this grand jury. but i do think it's quite clear that that's where we're headed. but it's also, keep in mind, an indictment. it's just the start. if there is an indictment of donald trump, it will be a big deal. we've got a long way to go in that case. >> and nina, we've mentioned the former president reacting to some of this. what is he saying? >> well, he's saying it's kind of the greatest hits of the kind of response that you hear from donald trump that we're all familiar with now, about the partisan prosecutor calling reverse racism, whatever that means. i just want to add one other thing to what elie was saying about what this foreman said. i went to kate baldwin, i will be sad if nothing happens. i can tell you that as that interview was going on, i was texting with a former trump attorney who's still very much plugged into trump world. he was saying what ali said, that this is like just gold for them. not only legally, but also politically. and kind of laughing about the fact that, yes, i mentioned that you have georgia, you have new york, you have doj.

a lot coming at him. but this source said, you know, this is a guy, meaning donald trump, who's, like, three cats. he's got 27 lies. every time you see the brink coming for him, politically and legally, something else happens. and we don't know what this is, something else in this particular case. but it is a thing, no question. >> all right, dana bash, elie honig, thanks so much. coming up, we have a really interesting cnn special report. as uprisings continue across iran, a cnn investigation has found a network of undercover sites used by iranian authorities to torture protesters. cnn's -- sat down with two of the survivors. we will have the details next. ♪ inner voice (kombucha brewer): if i just stare at these payroll forms... my business' payroll taxes will calculate themselves. right? uhh...nope. intuit quickbooks helps you manage your payroll taxes,

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>> over the last month, tens of thousands of iranians have flooded the streets in protest after 22-year-old woman died in custody of iran and security forces. she's been accused of luring her head scarf incorrectly. the protests have shocked iranian officials, led to a brutal crackdown. in december, cnn investigation found evidence of a push by iranian authorities to execute protesters, using sham trials and forced confessions. iranian human rights organizations tell cnn, at least 60 protesters were executed on january alone. a cnn investigation uncovered more than three dozen illegal

detention centers or black sites used by the iranian regime to torture protesters. cnn spoke with more than two dozen survivors of those sites, who shared stories about the abuse they endured. cnn's -- sat down with two survivors. we want to warn you, the report you are about to see contains some graphic descriptions of torture and sexual violence. >> for the last six weeks, -- has been on the run. each night, he moves to a different safe house. brutally tortured for 21 days at the hands of the iranian regime, he is terrified they will find him. his crime, organizing medics to help wounded protesters. but even with his fear of being tracked down, somebody still wants to identify himself, he wants to show the regime that they did not break him. >> translator: i set up a group of underground medics, we treated around 700 people. the regime was committing war crimes, forbidding treatment of the injured, i promised my friends to fight for them. >> his friends, like so many iranians, have been on the streets, protesting against the clerical regime that has for so long dictated their lives. for his defiance, a medical student was picked up by iranian security forces and brought to a black site. a clandestine interrogation

facility outside the rule of law. where many survivors tell cnn forced confessions are extracted through the most brutal of torture methods. these forced confessions have, at times, been used in court to execute protesters for crimes against the state. he refused to sign what he believed would be his death warrant. >> translator: why should i have signed something that i haven't done? i am not a terrorist, i am not a murderer, or saboteur. i only saved lives, that is it. my team and i did nothing more. >> unlike so many other victims of torture, cnn interviewed, he was not blindfolded during his detention. based on his testimony, cnn

commissioned the following images, to take you inside the ordeal that he and so many other iranian protesters have been subjected to. >> i was forced into a building hit by trees, next to a school. on the first day, the two guards kicked me, i vomited blood. each day, the torture got worse. there was a closet in the corner of the room filled with torture tools, electric cattle prods, different cutters, some syringes. they drugged me, they wanted me to stay alive longer, to torture me more. the guards started kissing me and looking my neck. they touched my genitals and my buttocks. on day 16 of my arrest i descended into. >> translator: they tied my hands unshackled my legs. they wanted to break me, to destroy me. they pulled my trousers down. i thought they were going to give me an electric shock

again. i couldn't believe they were going to do this. he took the baton and went behind me. i was waiting to be beaten up. he kissed my neck and shove the baton into minus. and he said, this is what a soldiers of the revolution due to gave ways like you. i was shocked and did not know what to do. i could not even scream. i was dumbstruck and just cried and silence. >> i can see the dark circles around your eyes. do you sleep? >> i'm sorry. >> it's okay, it's okay. >> he believes if he signed the false confession, as the guards wanted him to, they would've hanged him for treason. he doesn't know why his tortures released him. he thinks they wanted him to die on the streets. a chilling warning to others. based on his detailed eyewitness testimony across referencing the satellite imagery, cnn has been able to locate the black site where he says he was tortured. in his hometown of austin via.

these are the trees that hide the unnamed building he was brought into and this is the school where he had children playing in the courtyard. this is not the only black site, cross referencing testimony from over two dozen sources of satellite images, cnn found dozens of these black sites which can be divided into two types. undeclared illegal jails inside government facilities such as military bases and intelligence centers, and makeshift clandestine gels that typically crop up temporarily near protest sites, for instance, in this city, known for its religious pilgrimage sites, they've been using some mosques as detention centers. according to multiple sources cnn spoke with. this person can be seen in different cities across the country. in -- we found at least six unofficial detention centers. in -- five.

and toronto, the capital, where cnn was also able to locate different pop-up torture sites. after speaking to dozens of eyewitnesses who were tortured in these different unofficial detention centers, the barbaric treatment used on him was not innate. his experience tallies with other eyewitness testimony. >> make it with their hands tied. >> humiliation. >> no choice but to confess. >> in total, cnn located over three dozen clandestine jails across the country. it paints a picture of a regime medic out torture on an industrial scale, designed to crash an uprising that is pose the biggest accidental threat to the regime in decades. these are photos of just some of the protesters that state hospital physician doctor -- and his colleagues traded in the city of -- a major flash point in the crackdown of the uprising. it was an illegal act, according to the iranian regime. for, that he too was brought to a black site and tortured. >> translator: they are a power

in and of themselves, they don't follow any kind of human rights, there is no supervision, what kind of supervision do you have to have when people are being raped? they don't have any moral boundaries, they just want you to confess so they can prosecute you. >> doctor is now in hiding. >> you have had to risk so much just to do your job. >> translator: if i cry, it is not because i fear the islamic republic, it's not because of what i have lost, it is for the cruelty that people in iran are facing. >> even as evidence of torture on an industrial scale courts to -- iran's young protesters are equally defiant, even in the face of the unimaginable, torture and death.

torture and death. such an incredible piece of reporting here. what is the strategy of suppression, about how the regime views these uprisings? >> well, iranian authorities didn't respond to requests for comment. but what the methodology we uncovered tells us, is that the regime is scared. it views these protests as an existential threat. as a threat so existential, and the response to, it the architecture of suppression that they are deploying, has to be deniable, has to be hidden from the eyes of the world. anderson, as you saw, there it doesn't impact the defines of these protesters. >> i really appreciate, it, incredible, incredible. still ahead, in the double murder of alex murdaugh today, his only surviving son took the stand to defend his father, we have key developments, next. interesting piece.

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the debris murder trial of disgraced southern carolina attorney alex murdaugh, resume today, with his surviving son taking the stand. buster murdoch counts -- and provided new details, supporting his dad's defense. randi kaye has details.

>> my name is buster, 23 years old. >> buster murdoch, alex murdaugh was only surviving son, how shares have we heard or my dad called me he asked me if i was sitting down, and he told me that my mom and brother had been shot. key for the defense, busters testimony about how often his father showered given the state has suggested that alex murdoch washed up in changes, clothes after allegedly killing his wife and son. >> how frequently would your dad take a shower? >> he could take him a lot. >> and what about alex murdaugh police interview. we are one investigator testified, he thought murdaugh said, i did him so bad, regarding his son paul. the defense has argued, his client said they did him so bad, buster waiting in court after the video played. >> what did your dad say? >> he said they did him so bad. >> given that paul murdaugh was

shot with a gun -- the defense leaned on buster to convince the jury, that his father would never have loaded a shotgun like that. >> you ever seen any guns on your property load in that fashion? >> no sir. >> buckshot with some sort of bergeron behind it? >> after buster finished, this forensic engineer testified for the defense. he told the jury, based on his crime scene analysis, a person shorter than alex murdaugh, who is about 64, likely killed both maggie and paul. it puts the shooter oh whoever fired the weapon, if they were to -- it puts them in an unrealistic shooting position. >> what, if any opinion, do you have as to whether that person could be alex murdaugh shooting into that -- >> it can't be. >> this expert also testified about how the sound of gunfire travels. >> if you were in the house, even if you are walking around, you would hear that. >> that's key for the defense,

because if murdaugh didn't do this and was napping in the main house at the time of the murders, as he said, it could explain why he didn't go and check on his family at the dog kennels and remember the states witness, a gps expert, who said murdaugh slowed his car down on the night of the murders? in the same area where maggie murdaugh's cell phone was later found? the state suggested, murdaugh tossed the phone out of his car. but this witness disagreed with that. >> so, if he's speeding up from 42, 43, 44, 45 miles per hour, and as he goes to that area. >> any indication he stopped to slow down? >> no. >> randi joins me now from south carolina. was buster murdaugh ever asked in court if he thought his dad was capable of something like this? >> no, anderson. he was never asked that question, so we never heard him say in open court that he didn't think his father was capable of this or couldn't do something like this. he did a pretty good job of painting the picture of a very

loving family, a family that golfed together, they went hunting together, there were birthday parties, they would call and text each other every day multiple times a day. but anderson, there was never that moment where buster murdaugh turned to the jury and said, my father loved maggie and paul so much, he never could've done something like this. we just never saw that in court today. >> randy, appreciated. thanks. we will be right back. age-related macular degeneration may lead to severe vision loss and if you're taking a multi-vitamin alone, you may be missing a critical piece... preservision. preservision areds 2 contains the only clinically proven nutrient formula recommended by the national eye institute to help reduce the risk of moderate to advanced amd progression. preservision is backed by 20 years of clinical studies. so ask your doctor about adding preservision and fill in a missing piece of your plan. like i did with preservision. now with ocusorb better absorbing nutrients.

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try hypnosis... or, quit cold turkey. are you kidding me? instead, start small with nicorette, which will lead to something big. quick programming note -- national security officials apply integration for cnn town hall. russia's invasion of ukraine when year later conceded thursday night right here on cnn. news continues with a special addition of the situation on wolf placer. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> tonight, two presidents, to speeches, two very different messages to the world. the dramatic split screen. as russia's or hits an inflection point, the american president in europe defending democracy. >> democracy is how the world will stand guard over freedom. today, and forever.