Attorney General Merrick Garland revealed on Friday that at least three persons had been detained in connection with an alleged Iranian-sponsored murder-for-hire plan that was aimed at a renowned American journalist and human rights advocate who was also a critic of Tehran.
Garland noted that all three of the defendants—two of whom are now in American custody and the third of whom is acquitted—are anticipated to go on trial. He did not specify where, though. Garland stated during a news conference that the accusations "arise out of a continuing investigation into the government of Iran's efforts to kill, on U.S. territory, a journalist, novelist, and human rights activist who is a U.S. citizen of Iranian ancestry."
Although Garland omitted the victim's name, it is widely thought to be Masih Alinejad, a well-known opponent of the Islamic Republic who was the prior subject of an abduction attempt that was thwarted by the FBI and made public in a July 2021 unsealed indictment.
The murder-for-hire plot victim Alinejad came forward on Friday, writing and sharing a video on Twitter that she had met with 12 FBI officers in New York and discovered that the three men had been detained.
In the video, Alinejad added, "This is the face of a guy who was the target of an assassination plan."
“Let me make it clear, I am not scared for my life because I know that killing, assassinating, hanging, torturing, and raping are in the DNA of the Islamic Republic. That’s why I came to the United States of America to practice my right, my freedom of expression to give the voice of the brave people of Iran to say no to the Islamic Republic.”
Garland detailed the plot in the indictment alleging that individuals in Iran tasked Rafat Amirov with carrying out the murder-for-hire plot, with Amirov described as a member of an Eastern European criminal organization with ties to Iran. He is expected to be presented in federal court in New York later today.
Two other individuals, Polad Omarov and Khalid Mehdiyev are alleged to have been directed by Amirov to carry out the murder plot against Alinejad.
Mehdiyev has been in U.S. custody since July 2022 when he was arrested near the victim's home in Brooklyn, New York with an assault rifle, two ammunition magazines, and approximately 66 rounds of ammunition, Garland said.
The U.S. alleges that Mehdiyev was working from instructions by Omarov, who is in the custody of “foreign partners,” Garland said, pending extradition to the United state
National security advisor Jake Sullivan released a statement Friday responding to the unsealed indictment. While it did not name Alinejad, he has previously met with the human rights activist and spoke with her by phone in July following Mehdiyev’s arrest near her home.
Sullivan said in his statement that the Justice Department’s indictment “follows a disturbing pattern of Iranian Government-sponsored efforts to kill, torture, and intimidate into silence activists for speaking out for the fundamental rights and freedoms of Iranians around the world.”
Let there be no mistake: The United States will not let Iran or other authoritarian regimes to export attempts to crush peaceful dissent against people residing legally in our nation via threats and intimidation, Sullivan said. "And, just as we are doing, we will hold individuals who engage in such acts legally responsible."
Mike Pompeo, a former secretary of state, and Brian Hook, who worked as special envoys for Iran under the Trump administration and still have official protection, are reportedly targets of the Iranian regime.