The convictions brought some measure of resolution to what U.S. officials have described as an unrelenting retaliation effort against Masih Alinejad.
The convictions brought some measure of resolution to what U.S. officials have described as an unrelenting retaliation effort against Masih Alinejad.
The convictions brought some measure of resolution to what U.S. officials have described as an unrelenting retaliation effort against Masih Alinejad.
For nearly a decade, people with ties to Iran’s government have been accused of plotting to kidnap or murder Masih Alinejad, a journalist and dissident who left the country in 2009 and an impassioned critic of its leaders.
On Thursday, a jury in Manhattan returned guilty verdicts in the first criminal case stemming from those attempts to go to trial.
Two accused members of the Russian mob, who prosecutors said had plotted to kill Ms. Alinejad at the behest of a network in Iran that included a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, were found guilty in Federal District Court of five offenses including murder for hire, attempted murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to launder money.
Both defendants, Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, stood quietly as the jury’s foreman answered “guilty” in response to Judge Colleen McMahon’s questions about each of the counts. They were then led from the courtroom.
“I am relieved that after nearly three years, the men who plotted to kill me have been found guilty,” Ms. Alinejad said in a statement. “But make no mistake, the real masterminds of this crime are still in power in Iran.”
Matthew Podolsky, the acting United States attorney in Manhattan, issued a statement, too, saying: “If you target U.S. citizens, we will find you, no matter where you are, and bring you to justice.”