The two suspects face trial Monday after being charged with a blocked conspiracy to kill the Iranian government's US-based critic on behalf of the Islamic Republic.
Iran's Rafat Amilov and Czech Republic's Polad Omarov are scheduled to appear in federal court in New York City after pleading not guilty to a conspiracy by an employer targeting his allegedly committed crimes in a federal court in New York City, according to Reuters. Prosecutors said both suspects were members of the Russian mob and were employed by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
“Finally, I will face a man hired by the Islamic Republic to kill me here in New York,” Arinehad, who is expected to testify, writes about X. “Of course, that's not easy, but that's a big deal.
“It's easy to get nervous, fearful, or break at these moments, but your support lifts me up,” she added. “So, when I step into that court, I will carry your power with me.”
Iranian Revolutionary Guard officials have been charged with conspiracy to kill an Iranian American human rights activist in New York
Journalist and anti-Iranian activist Masi Arinehad will testify today during court proceedings in the federal court of Manhattan. (Fox News)
The trial in Manhattan federal court will begin with the ju judge's choice on Monday, Reuters reported.
Amirov of Omarov and the third suspect, Khalid Mediev of Yonkers of New York, were indicted by the Department of Justice in early 2023.
“Federal courts in New York today are being charged with unsealed murder and money laundering accusations of conspiring to murder a US citizen who was targeting the Iranian government to abuse the administration's human rights,” the DOJ said at the time.
Officials said the assassination plot was the second attempt by Iran to target Arinehad. The FBI has hampered alleged 2021 attempt to lure her back to Iran.
Activists make a statement after Iran tries to kill her
The courtroom sketch shows him appearing at a previous arrest hearing of Magistrate Judge Sarah Cave in a New York courtroom on January 27, 2023. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
“The victims in this case were intended to exercise the rights of all American citizens. The victims made public human rights violations of the Iranian government: discriminatory treatment of women, suppressing democratic participation and expression, and using arbitrary intentional imprisonment, torture and execution,” said then General Merrick Garland.
Mehdiyev was arrested in 2022 after being found driving with a rifle loaded into Alinejad's Brooklyn area and dozens of rounds of ammunition. Arinehad told the Associated Press at the time that authorities told her she was looking for her, and home security video caught him hanging outside her front door.
Mehdiyev has also pleaded not guilty, but his status at the trial is unknown, according to Reuters.
“Omarov appears to be innocent,” his lawyer, Elena Fast, told the press.
Masih Alinejad will speak in New York City in October 2018. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images by Photo By Getty Images)
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“I am extremely excited to take part in the public trial as a witness to testify against those hired by the Islamic Republic to kill me,” Arinehad told Reuters. “It looks like I've been given a second life.”
Grace Taggart, Caitlin McFall, David Spunt and the Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report.
