DISTURBING

Trio of Eastern European Gang Members Charged in Plot to Kill Iran Critic in NYC

Journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad has been a target of Iranian intelligence officials for years now, according to the Department of Justice.

Three men have been arrested for plotting to kill journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad, the Justice Department announced Friday. Alinejad, who is Iranian-American, has been an outspoken critic against the Islamic Republic of Iran and a frequent target of threats. The arrested men—Rafat Amirov, Polad Omarov and Khalid Mehdiyev—are allegedly part of an Eastern European criminal organization connected to Iran. Mehdiyev was arrested last summer after cops found him in Alinejad’s New York City neighborhood with a loaded AK-47, according to the feds, who said all three men were tasked with killing Alinejad. Since 2020, Iranian intel officials and assets had been plotting to snatch Alinejad in the U.S. and bring her back to Iran to “silence her criticism of the regime,” the DOJ said in a statement. The trio have been charged with murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and money laundering conspiracy, while Mehdiyev has also been charged with unlawful possession of a defaced firearm.