"In stunning testimony by Merchant, a Pakistani national who said he was recruited by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in 2022 or 2023, earlier this week, the accused walked jurors through the same steps the government accused him of taking: traveling to the U.S. and seeking out hit men kill a politician at a rally."
"In his defense, Merchant's attorneys sought to convince jurors that he didn't really intend to go through with the plan, and only did so because he feared for the safety of his family in Iran. Merchant has a wife and child in Tehran, in addition to the wife and children he was living with in Karachi, Pakistan."
"The winning side's narrative, presented by government attorneys at the trial, which began with jury selection on Feb. 24, was that Merchant sought revenge on the U.S. for the January 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, and sought to help the Iranian military take out a target that was hurting the Muslim world."
Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national, was convicted of attempted terrorism and murder for hire charges carrying a possible life sentence. Merchant testified that he was recruited by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in 2022 or 2023 and admitted to traveling to the U.S. to seek hit men for assassinating a high-ranking U.S. politician, possibly Donald Trump. His defense argued he acted under duress due to fears for his family's safety in Iran. Prosecutors established that Merchant sought revenge for the January 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani and presented evidence including Facebook images Merchant shared depicting Trump and calling for severe revenge. The jury reached a guilty verdict in less than two hours.
Read at www.amny.com
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