Iranian-Backed Murder-for-Hire Group Behind Brooklyn Assassination Attempt – By Paul D. Shinkman (US News) / Jan 27, 2023
The stunning details into the attempted murder of Masih Alinejad at her home in New York City represent an ‘alarming’ rise in nation state-backed threats to Americans, officials say.
The Department of Justice on Friday unveiled stunning details into an Iran-backed attempt to assassinate an American journalist at her Brooklyn home last year – the latest in what officials warn is an “alarming” rise in plots orchestrated by nation states targeting people inside the U.S.
Three men who belong to an “Eastern European Organized Crime Group” are now in custody and have been indicted in the Southern District of New York, the department announced Friday morning, for the plot to kill Masih Alinejad, an American citizen, author and human rights activist who has emerged as one of the most prominent expatriate voices in support of ongoing women’s rights protests against the regime in Tehran.
The brazen scheme involved at least three men with personal ties to Iran and the violent Eastern European gang – including one, Khalid Mehdiyev, who repeatedly stalked the victim’s house and returned on several occasions in an attempt to carry out the assassination with an assault-style rifle. After his most recent attempt, in July, he was stopped for a traffic violation and arrested after officers found the weapon, dozens of rounds of ammunition, cash and a black ski mask in his car. Two other men involved in the operation were arrested this month, one of them on Thursday.
