Through a press conference to make the announcement, neither Merrick Garland nor the authorities present revealed the name of the potential victim. However, it would be dealing with the journalist Masih Alinejad
US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday the arrest of three men who were allegedly hired to kill an Iranian-American journalist and activist.
Through a press conference to make the announcement, neither Garland nor the authorities present revealed the name of the potential victim. However, some information reported by EFE indicates that it is the journalist Masih Alinejad.
U.S. Attorney Announces Charges And New Arrest In Connection With Assassination Plot Directed From Iran @NewYorkFBIhttps://t.co/GGtQCLsrvY
— FBI (@FBI) January 27, 2023
The possible victim was the object of an attempted kidnapping last year, a crime for which four other people were charged, who were related to Iranian intelligence services.
According to the attorney general, the victim was targeted for “exercising the right of every American citizen” to express himself, and publicizing the Iranian government’s “human rights abuses,” its “discriminatory” treatment of women, the nullification of democratic expressions in that country, or the “arbitrary” arrests that are practiced there.
I just learned from 12 FBI agents that the 3 men hired by the Iranian regime to kill me on US soil have been indicted. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards have been conducting these terrorist operations for four decades.
Islamic Republic is ISIS with oil. #WomanLifeFreedom pic.twitter.com/T9Hbp0iwG3— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 27, 2023
Garland stated that Rafat Amirov is the leader of the group that was detained, as well as the leader of an organization with close ties to Iran in Eastern Europe, of which the other two detainees are.
“We will not tolerate attempts by any authoritarian regime to threaten to silence American citizens, and we will not stop until those responsible are identified and brought to justice,” Garland said, calling the Iranian regime responsible for commissioning the assassination.
Meanwhile, Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Adviser, said in a separate statement that charges have been charged against the group’s leader, the alleged hit man, who was arrested late last year in New York, and a third person arrested in abroad, and who faces extradition to the US.
“Make no mistake: The United States will not allow Iran or other authoritarian regimes to export efforts to stifle peaceful dissent through threats and intimidation against those living legally in our country,” Sullivan said.