US Charges 3 Men In Alleged Iranian Plot To Murder Rights Activist In New York

The United States charged three men for allegedly being part of an Iranian plot to murder a rights activist in New York, the Justice Department said on Friday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2023) The United States charged three men for allegedly being part of an Iranian plot to murder a rights activist in New York, the Justice Department said on Friday.

"As alleged, the defendants are members of an organized crime group hired to assassinate, right here in New York City, a US citizen of Iranian origin who has been critical of the regime's autocracy and its disregard for human rights," US Attorney Damian Williams said in the press release. "This is the second time in the past two years that this Office and our partners at the FBI have disrupted plots originating from within Iran to kidnap or kill this victim for the 'crime' of exercising the right to free speech, to independent political thought, and to advocating for the rights of the oppressed and disenfranchised inside Iran.

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Rafat Amirov, 43, of Iran, Polad Omarov, 38, of the Czech Republic and Slovenia, and Khalid Mehdiyev, 24, of Yonkers, New York, have each been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to the release.

Mehdiyev is also charged with possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, the release said.

Journalist Masih Alinejad identified herself in 2021 as the target of the kidnapping plot.