Two suspects will be confronted on Monday with a test after they have been charged in a thwarted conspiracy for an American critic of the Iranian government On behalf of the Islamic Republic.
Rafat Amirov from Iran and Polad Omarov of the Czech Republic and Slovenia will appear in the federal court in New York City, according to Reuters after he has not guilty in the alleged murder of journalist Masih Alinejad. Prosecutors said that both suspects were members of the Russian crowd and were hired by the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps,
“Finally, I will face the men of the Islamic Republic to kill me here in New York,” wrote Alinejad, who is expected to testify, on X. “Of course it is not easy. But it is a big day. I am deeply grateful for my new country, the United States of America, because I am trying to protect myself against the government of my birth of my birth.
“At these moments it is easy to feel nervous, scared or even broken, but your support lifts me up,” she added. “So, while I walk into that courtroom, I will carry your strength with me.”
Journalist and anti-Iranian activist Masih Alinejad is expected to testify today during legal proceedings in the Federal Court of Manhattan. (Fox News)
The trial in the Federal Hof van Manhattan starts on Monday with jury selection, Reuters reported.
Amirov, Omarov and a third suspect, Khalid Mehdiyev van Yonkers, New York, were sued by the Ministry of Justice At the beginning of 2023.
“A federal court in New York today relieves the murder and money laundering against three members of an Eastern European criminal organization for planning the murder of an American citizen who is the target of the government of Iran to pronounce the human rights violations of the regime,” said the Doj at that time.
Civil servants said the murder plot was the second attempt by Iran Target Intent. The FBI crossed an alleged attempt of Tehran to try to bring her back to Iran.
Activist speaks out after Iran tries to kill her
A courtroom sketch shows that Rafat Amirov appears for a hearing for a preliminary guide for magistrate Judge Sarah Cave in a courtroom in New York on January 27, 2023 with regard to the alleged plot of the murder. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
“In this case the victim was aimed at exercising the rights to which every American citizen has a right. The victim published the human rights violations of the Iranian government; discriminatory treatment of women; oppression of democratic participation and expression; and the use of random prison, fooling and implementation, said Attornia General.
Mehdiyev was arrested in 2022 after he was found around Alinejad Brooklyn -Neigh With a loaded gun and dozens of rounds of ammunition. Alinejad told the Associated Press at the time that the authorities told her that the man was looking for her, and that a home security video had caught him on her front door.
Mehdiyev has not argued guilty either, but according to Reuters the status of his process is unclear.
“Mr Omarov is supposed to be innocent,” his lawyer, Elena Fast, told the news agency.
Masih Alinejad will speak in New York City in October 2018. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty images for women in cable communication)
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“I am very excited to participate in the public process as a witness to testify against those who have been accepted by the Islamic Republic to kill me,” Alinejad also told Reuters. “It’s like I got a second life.”
Grace Taggart from Fox News, Caitlin McFall, David Stept and The Associated Press have contributed to this report.
