Suspects accused of Iran-backed plot to kill journalist on American soil face trial

Two suspects are facing trial Monday after being charged in a thwarted plot to kill a U.S.-based critic of the Iranian government on behalf of the Islamic Republic. 

Rafat Amirov of Iran and Polad Omarov of the Czech Republic and Slovenia are set to appear in federal court in New York City after pleading not guilty in the alleged murder-for-hire plot targeting journalist Masih Alinejad, according to Reuters. Prosecutors said both suspects were members of the Russian mob and were hired by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps,

“Finally, I will face the men hired by the Islamic Republic to kill me, right here in New York,” Alinejad, who is expected to testify, wrote on X. “Of course, it’s not easy. But it’s a big day. I’m deeply grateful to my new country, the United States of America, for trying to keep me safe from the government of my birth country, Iran. 

“In moments like this, it’s easy to feel nervous, afraid, or even broken, but your support lifts me up,” she added. “So, as I walk into that courtroom, I will carry your strength with me.” 

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The trial in Manhattan federal court will begin with jury selection on Monday, Reuters reported. 

Amirov, Omarov and a third suspect, Khalid Mehdiyev of Yonkers, New York, were charged by the Justice Department in early 2023. 

“A federal court in New York today unsealed murder-for-hire and money laundering charges against three members of an Eastern European criminal organization for plotting the murder of a U.S. citizen who has been targeted by the Government of Iran for speaking out against the regime’s human rights abuses,” the DOJ said at the time. 

Officials said the assassination plot was the second attempt by Iran to target Alinejad. The FBI thwarted an alleged 2021 kidnapping attempt by Tehran to try and forcibly bring her back to Iran.   

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A courtroom sketch shows Rafat Amirov appearing for an arraignment hearing before Magistrate Judge Sarah Cave at a courtroom in New York on Jan. 27, 2023 in relation to the alleged murder-for-hire plot. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)

“The Victim in this case was targeted for exercising the rights to which every American citizen is entitled. The Victim publicized the Iranian Government’s human rights abuses; discriminatory treatment of women; suppression of democratic participation and expression; and use of arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and execution,” then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said.  

Mehdiyev was arrested in 2022 after he was found driving around Alinejad’s Brooklyn neighborhood with a loaded rifle and dozens of rounds of ammunition. Alinejad told The Associated Press at the time that authorities told her the man was looking for her, and that a home security video had caught him hanging outside her front door.  

Mehdiyev has also pleaded not guilty, but the status of his trial is unclear, according to Reuters. 

“Mr. Omarov is presumed innocent,” his lawyer, Elena Fast, told the news agency. 

Masih Alinejad speaks in New York City in October 2018. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Women in Cable Telecommunications)

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“I am very excited to join the public trial as a witness to testify against those who were hired by the Islamic Republic to kill me,” Alinejad also told Reuters. “It’s like I’ve been given a second life.” 

Fox News’ Grace Taggart, Caitlin McFall, David Spunt and The Associated Press contributed to this report.