Two men found guilty in plot to kill NY-based Iranian dissident
A US jury has found Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov guilty on all charges related to a plot to assassinate Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad.
A US jury has found Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov guilty on all charges related to a plot to assassinate Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad.
The charges against them included murder for hire, firearms possession, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The judge gave federal prosecutors one last chance to make a final statement to the jury before they made their final decision.
""It doesn't matter who she was or what she offered to this world. They only cared about money and power."
The jury received the case just before 1 p.m. on Thursday. The jury had initially asked for transcription material but while the attorneys were gathering materials, the jury sent another note saying that they had reached a verdict.
Alinejad was not in court on Thursday but was quoted by the Associated Press as saying she cried upon hearing the verdict.
“I am relieved that after nearly three years, the men who plotted to kill me have been found guilty. But make no mistake, the real masterminds of this crime are still in power in Iran,” she said.
On X, Alinejad called the guilty verdict a win for all the women of Iran against the Islamic Republic.
"I and the women of Iran have today won and you @khamenei_ir and your hated regime have lost!," she posted to X.
"For the first time, the regime of the Islamic Republic is being held accountable for bringing its campaign of terror to U.S. soil," Alinejad wrote, "This is just the beginning of exposing and dismantling its network of violence."
“This verdict should send a clear message around the world: if you target US citizens, we will find you, no matter where you are, and bring you to justice,” acting US attorney Matthew Podolsky said in a statement.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Leslie R. Backschies said: “The convictions of Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov send a clear message to all foreign governments who violate our laws and attempt to commit violence against Americans — they and their proxies will face justice for any attempt to silence Americans on US soil. The Iranian government’s shameless conduct and attempt to violate our laws and assassinate a critic of their human rights atrocities will not be tolerated.”
The verdict was announced at the Manhattan federal court following jury deliberations where on Tuesday Alinejad took to the stand recounting the chilling moment she came face-to-face with the man who had been sent to kill her.
"He was in the sunflowers staring straight into my eyes," she said, coming face to face with Khalid Mehdiyev, who admitted he intended to kill Alinejad at the behest of the Iranian government allegedly and testified against the two found guilty.
Prosecutors said the convicted men, Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, were crime bosses in the Russian mob. Their lawyers argued that they were innocent and trial evidence was flawed.
Mehdiyev, a member of the Thieves in Law gang said he received orders from the two to kill the journalist who uses her platform to expose the Islamic Republic’s repression.
As a government witness, who has made a deal with the Feds, Mehdiyev pleaded guilty to attempted murder and gun charges, but Omarav and Amirov stood trial.
The courtroom on 500 Pearl Street in Manhattan was frequented by supporters and friends of Alinejad, including Women Life Freedom protestors who had their eyes blinded by Iran's security forces at the height of the nationwide uprisings in 2022.
