Two individuals have been found guilty in a murder-for-hire plot aimed at an Iranian-American journalist in Brooklyn. A federal jury in New York convicted Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov for conspiring to assassinate reporter Masih Alinejad in July 2022. Prosecutors allege that the scheme was funded by the Iranian government in response to Alinejad’s activism against mandatory headscarves for Iranian women. Despite Iran’s denial of involvement, the defendants, described as Russian mobsters, were convicted on various charges such as murder for hire, firearms possession, and money laundering conspiracy. Following a two-week trial, the Manhattan jury reached a verdict after deliberating for just over three hours. Prosecutors disclosed Iran’s repeated attempts to silence and intimidate Alinejad, including a thwarted kidnapping plot that led to the arrest of four Iranian intelligence officials in 2021. When those efforts failed, Iran allegedly offered a $500,000 bounty for her assassination. In a statement released after the trial, Alinejad, a former Voice of America employee who left Iran in 2009, expressed a mix of emotions, emphasizing her resilience against a regime attempting to stifle dissent through violence. She vowed to continue her advocacy until accountability is upheld for all wrongdoers within the regime.
