Surveillance for several years, he had to move house 21 times: Tehran tries to kill a journalist exiled in the United States, but the FBI intercepts the plan and accuses eight Iranians, including a Revolutionary Guard officer.
An Iranian officer. Ruhollah Bazghandi, of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, is accused of having tried to kill an Iranian journalist exiled in the United States of America (USA), Masih Alinejad, the US Department of Justice announced this Tuesday.
In addition to Brigadier General Bazghandi, who is in Iran, the indictment includes seven other Iranian nationals, including Secret Service agents. Three were arrested and are in US custody.. Alinejad, who is also a political activist critical of Tehran, is not mentioned in the Justice Department statement, but confirmed to the Associated Press that she was the target of the attack.
On her social media, Alinejad reacted to the assassination attempt, describing it as “a stark reminder of the brutal measures the Islamic regime uses to silence dissidents, even those beyond Iran’s borders.”
RIP:
US federal prosecutors have charged Ruhollah Bazghandi, a senior official in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and three other men linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran of participating in a failed plot to assassinate me on US soil.
He… pic.twitter.com/9tkmioCs5J
— Masih Alinejad ????️ (@AlinejadMasih) October 22, 2024
Alinejad remembers an attempted kidnapping, in 2021, that forced her to move house. In fact, she even says that she has already been forced to move house 21 times but that she is “stronger than ever.”
I had a meeting with him @FBI and the Department of Justice can’t share the news yet, but it’s another beautiful day.@khamenei_ir ! Every time you and your IRGC are humiliated, it is a victory for us.
I’ve moved between safe houses 21 times, but I’m stronger than ever. pic.twitter.com/v94GCCyZPM—Masih Alinejad ????️ (@AlinejadMasih) October 22, 2024
“The Department of Justice charged eight people with efforts to silence and kill an American citizen for his criticism of the Iranian regime. We will not tolerate efforts by an authoritarian regime like Iran to undermine the fundamental rights guaranteed to all Americans,” said US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The FBI director added that an investigation by the US agency interrupted the Iranian plot to carry out an attack in New York. Bazghandi recruited men from Iran to carry out attacks in exchange for money. Alinejad will have been under surveillance by different members of this operation for several years.
The FBI is now working alongside domestic and international partners to arrest the remaining defendants and bring them to trial. Bazghandi and the other three Iranians face charges of conspiracy to commit murder and violating economic sanctions against Tehran, as well as money laundering. If they are tried and convicted, they may incur cumulative punishment. 60 years in prison.
Masih Alinejad is a journalist and political activist exiled in New York since 2009. Born in Iran, she has dual Iranian and North American nationality, standing out for defending women’s rights in Iran and harshly criticizing the Tehran government, which won international awards in the area. of human rights.
Source: Observadora
