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A federal judge sentenced two men to 25 years in prison for conspiring to murder Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad on Wednesday.
Judge Colleen McMahon sentenced the two defendants, Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, to 300 months in prison. The two men were convicted of murder for hire, conspiracy to commit murder for hire, money laundering and possession and use of a firearm in connection with the attempted murder.
Alinejad spoke outside the Manhattan courtroom following the sentencing, saying that her only crime was giving a voice to the women of Iran and her life was treated like a business transaction. She continued, saying that this turned her life upside down. She said she is a brave, strong woman and that the judge has the power to show the women of Iran that the US will stand with them.
Alinejad’s husband then spoke as well, saying the defendants’ “intent was pure malice.”
The two men were convicted in the May of accepting $500,000 from the Iranian government and hiring a hitman to kill Alinejad at her home in Brooklyn in July 2022. Authorities foiled the plot, however, arresting the alleged armed hitman, Khalid Mehdiyev, outside Alinejad’s home.
Mehdiyev is being tried in a separate case, and he testified against Amirov and Omarov in their trials. He testified that Amirov offered him $30,000 to kill “the journalist” as he referred to Alinejad during testimony.
Mehdiyev pleaded guilty to attempted murder and gun charges in his case. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
U.S. officials say Alinejad has survived multiple attempts on her life since fleeing Iran in 2009, according to the New York Post.
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