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Iranian intelligence operatives plotted to kidnap an Iranian-born U.S. author-journalist highly critical of the Tehran regime in New York City for rendition to Iran, according to federal prosecutors.
The target appears to have been Masih Alinejad, a journalist and outspoken women’s rights activist. However, the Justice Department did not name the individual when announcing on Tuesday, it unsealed an indictment “charging four Iranian nationals with conspiracies related to kidnapping, sanctions violations, bank and wire fraud, and money laundering.”
Alireza Shahvaroghi Farahani, Mahmoud Khazein, Kiya Sadeghi, and Omid Noori all “conspired to kidnap a Brooklyn journalist, author, and human rights activist for mobilizing public opinion in Iran and around the world to bring about changes to the regime’s laws and practices,” the agency said, citing court documents.
US charges four Iranians with plotting to abduct reporter in New York
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14/07/2021 - 04:12 Four Iranian nationals have been charged with trying to kidnap Iranian-American rights activist and journalist Masih Alinejad in New York and take her back to Iran to be jailed Jemal Countess GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File 4 min
Washington (AFP)
Four Iranian nationals were indicted Tuesday on charges of plotting to abduct a journalist in New York and smuggle her out of the country to Iran, the Justice Department said.
US-based journalist and activist Masih Alinejad, who is of Iranian descent and is an outspoken critic of the Tehran government, confirmed on Twitter that she was the target of the alleged plot.