NEW YORK — A jury has convicted two males of plotting to assassinate Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad at her house in New York Town in a murder-for-hire scheme that prosecutors mentioned was once financed by means of the Iranian govt.
The decision was once returned at a federal courtroom in New York on Thursday, finishing a two-week trial that featured dramatic testimony from a employed gunman and Alinejad, an writer, activist and contributor to Voice of The us.
Prosecutors mentioned the convicted males, Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, have been crime bosses within the Russian mob. Their legal professionals argued that they have been blameless and trial proof was once fallacious.
Prosecutors mentioned Alinejad, 48, was once centered by means of Iran for her on-line campaigns encouraging girls there to file movies of themselves exposing their hair in violation of edicts requiring they quilt it in public.
Iran presented $500,000 for a July 2022 killing of Alinejad after efforts to annoy, smear and intimidate Alinejad failed, prosecutors mentioned.
American officers have accused Iran of backing a number of assassination plots in the USA, together with in opposition to President Donald Trump when he was once campaigning remaining yr. Tehran has denied being at the back of any plots to kill other people within the U.S.
Alinejad, who was once no longer in courtroom, informed The Related Press she cried when she realized in regards to the verdict.
“I’m relieved that when just about 3 years, the boys who plotted to kill me had been discovered accountable. However make no mistake, the actual masterminds of this crime are nonetheless in energy in Iran,” she mentioned.
Alinejad testified remaining week that she got here to the USA in 2009 after she was once banned from overlaying Iran’s disputed presidential election and the newspaper the place she labored was once close down.
Setting up herself in New York Town, she constructed an internet target market of thousands and thousands and introduced her “My Stealthy Freedom” marketing campaign, telling Iranian girls to ship pictures and movies exposing of them exposing their hair when the morality police weren’t round.
Quickly, she mentioned, she had impressed girls to take to the streets in Iran on Wednesdays to peacefully protest, main the federal government to arrest masses of them. The crackdown best brought about her following to develop, alternatively.
On the trial, prosecutors mentioned that by means of 2022, the Iranian govt had enlisted high-level Russian mobsters, together with Amirov and Omarov, to kill Alinejad.
Khalid Mehdiyev, a former member of the Russian mob who lived Yonkers and labored at a pizzeria, testified that he was once employed because the hitman. Like Amirov and Omarov, he’s from Azerbaijan, which stocks a border and cultural ties with Iran.
Mehdiyev, who cooperated with prosecutors after pleading accountable to a couple of crimes, mentioned he purchased an AK-47 to kill Alinejad however the plan was once foiled when his automobile was once stopped by means of police and the gun was once discovered within the again seat in July 2022.
Prosecutors have saved the investigation open. In October they introduced fees in opposition to a senior Iranian army legitimate and 3 others, none of whom are in custody.
