The federal trial of two suspects kicked off Monday after the pair were charged in a thwarted plot to kill a U.S.-based critic of the Iranian government on behalf of the Islamic Republic.
Rafat Amirov of Iran and Polad Omarov of the Czech Republic and Slovenia appeared in federal court in New York City after pleading not guilty in the alleged murder-for-hire plot targeting journalist Masih Alinejad. Prosecutors said both suspects were members of the Russian mob and were hired by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“Finally, I will face the men hired by the Islamic Republic to kill me, right here in New York,” Alinejad, who is expected to testify at some point during the trial, wrote on X. “Of course, it’s not easy. But it’s a big day. I’m deeply grateful to my new country, the United States of America, for trying to keep me safe from the government of my birth country, Iran.
“In moments like this, it’s easy to feel nervous, afraid, or even broken, but your support lifts me up,” she added. “So, as I walk into that courtroom, I will carry your strength with me.”
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The trial in Manhattan federal court began with jury selection Monday. Alinejad was not present for the morning proceedings.
At one point, Amirov – dressed in a gray suit with a white button-down shirt underneath – was seen smiling as he was chatting with his attorneys while waiting for the jury to be brought up.
Once the 100 jurors filed into the courtroom, the defense teams introduced both defendants. Amirov and Omarov – who was wearing a blue sweater over a collared shirt – both stood up, turned and faced the jury but did not show any emotion.
Judge Colleen McMahon also told the jury that all the lawyers participating in this trial, which is expected to last no more than three weeks, are “outstanding.”
Amirov, Omarov and a third suspect, Khalid Mehdiyev of Yonkers, New York, were charged by the Justice Department in early 2023.
“A federal court in New York today unsealed murder-for-hire and money laundering charges against three members of an Eastern European criminal organization for plotting the murder of a U.S. citizen who has been targeted by the Government of Iran for speaking out against the regime’s human rights abuses,” the DOJ said at the time.
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Officials said the assassination plot was the second attempt by Iran to target Alinejad. The FBI thwarted an alleged 2021 kidnapping attempt by Tehran to try and forcibly bring her back to Iran.
“The Victim in this case was targeted for exercising the rights to which every American citizen is entitled. The Victim publicized the Iranian Government’s human rights abuses; discriminatory treatment of women; suppression of democratic participation and expression; and use of arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and execution,” then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
Mehdiyev was arrested in 2022 after he was found driving around Alinejad’s Brooklyn neighborhood with a loaded rifle and dozens of rounds of ammunition. Alinejad told The Associated Press at the time that authorities told her the man was looking for her, and that a home security video had caught him hanging outside her front door.
Mehdiyev has also pleaded not guilty, but the status of his trial is unclear, according to Reuters.
“Mr. Omarov is presumed innocent,” his lawyer, Elena Fast, told the news agency.
“I am very excited to join the public trial as a witness to testify against those who were hired by the Islamic Republic to kill me,” Alinejad also told Reuters. “It’s like I’ve been given a second life.”
Fox News’ Grace Taggart, Caitlin McFall, David Spunt and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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