Two Eastern European gangsters, Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, were convicted of orchestrating a failed assassination attempt on Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad, backed by the Iranian government with a $500,000 bounty. Their hired hitman, Khalid Mehdiyev, was arrested outside her Brooklyn home in July 2022, carrying a loaded gun and acting conspicuously. Alinejad, known for her strong critique of Iran’s regime and its oppressive laws against women, has survived multiple assassination and kidnapping attempts since leaving Iran in 2009, highlighting the risks faced by dissenters.
"I was there to try to kill the journalist," Mehdiyev cooly testified during a week-and-a-half-long trial in Manhattan federal court.
"For these so-called crimes, the Iranian regime has spent years attempting to harass, smear, intimidate and even kidnap Ms. Alinejad," prosecutor Michael Lockard said.
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