New York, NY – In a failed murder-for-hire plot that reads like a script out of a noir thriller, a self-proclaimed Russian mobster was caught and arrested after a series of blunders. Federal prosecutors have presented evidence against Khalid Mehdiyev, 27, for attempting to assassinate Iranian-American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad last year.
Mehdiyev, an Azerbaijani national, was tasked with the assassination but his approach was clumsy, bordering on farcical. His tactics included sending grammatically incorrect and awkward texts in an attempt to get closer to Alinejad, ordering food delivery to his stakeout vehicle, and ultimately, running a stop sign that led to his arrest near the journalist’s Brooklyn home.
In court, it was revealed that the plot was much bigger and pointed to international intrigue. Mehdiyev was allegedly hired by Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov under an agreement purportedly backed by the Iranian government, which promised to pay $500,000 for the assassination. Both Amirov and Omarov, also from Azerbaijan, are facing charges of murder-for-hire and money laundering.
Prosecutors argued that these men were “hired guns,” paid by Tehran to eliminate Alinejad, who has been a vocal critique of the Iranian regime’s treatment of women. Alinejad, a prominent figure on Farsi-language satellite networks and a contractor for the US-funded Voice of America since 2015, has been the subject of multiple assassination and kidnapping attempts since her defection following Iran’s contested 2009 elections.
The trial disclosed chilling details, including that Mehdiyev had scouted Alinejad’s house, sending video footage to his handlers, and was found with a loaded AK-47 and a ski mask in his car when arrested. Defensive arguments from Amirov and Omarov’s attorneys suggested reliance on circumstantial evidence and questioned Mehdiyev’s credibility, painting him as a murderer inclined to lie to reduce his sentencing on separate charges.
Mehdiyev, who admitted to a life of orchestrating crime in Azerbaijan, expressed no remorse in court. He coldly recounted that he was trying the “easy way” to execute the hit. The jury watched doorbell camera footage showing Mehdiyev suspiciously loitering around Alinejad’s residence.
The broader implications of such actions on U.S. soil speak volumes about the reach and alleged audacity of foreign state actors attempting to silence dissenters abroad. The trial continues to unravel layers of conspiracy, shedding light on the dark realm of international espionage and politically motivated assassinations.
As the court proceedings advance, the global community watches closely, understanding that the outcome has wider ramifications for how democratic nations address and protect against foreign threats to their residents. For now, Alinejad remains a potent voice against tyranny, undeterred by the shadows that loom large and continue to target her in her adopted homeland.