U.S. Attorney Announces Charges And New Arrest In Connection With Assassination Plot Directed From Iran

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

49% : MEHDIYEV sent photographs and videos of the Victim's residence to OMAROV for further sharing with AMIROV and the plot's orchestrators in Iran.
46% : * * *AMIROV, 43, of Iran, OMAROV, 38, of the Czech Republic and Slovenia, and MEHDIYEV, 24, of Yonkers, New York, have each been charged with: (i) murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; (ii) conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and (iii) conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
44% : Beginning in approximately mid-July 2022, AMIROV sent targeting information - which AMIROV had received from other individuals in Iran - about the Victim and the Victim's residence to OMAROV.
39% : The Organization has ties to Iran and is violent, engaging in murders, kidnappings, assaults, and extortions, and members typically identify themselves with tattoos and other displays of eight-pointed stars.
38% : This is the second time in the past two years that this Office and our partners at the FBI have disrupted plots originating from within Iran to kidnap or kill this victim for the 'crime' of exercising the right to free speech, to independent political thought, and to advocating for the rights of the oppressed and disenfranchised inside Iran.
37% : The Victim publicized the Iranian Government's human rights abuses; discriminatory treatment of women; suppression of democratic participation and expression; and use of arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and execution.
36% :AMIROV is a leader in an Eastern European criminal organization (the "Organization") who resides in Iran.
34% : Since at least July 2022, the Organization was tasked with carrying out the murder of a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin (the "Victim"), who previously has been the target of plots by the Government of Iran to intimidate, harass, and kidnap the Victim.
34% : The Victim is a journalist, author, and human rights activist, residing in Brooklyn, New York, who has publicized the Government of Iran's human rights abuses and suppression of political expression, including in connection with continuing protests against the regime across Iran.
32% :Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said: "Today's indictment exposes a dangerous menace to national security - a double threat posed by a vicious transnational crime group operating from what it thought was the safe haven of a rogue nation: Iran.
30% : As recently as 2020 and 2021, Iranian intelligence officials and assets plotted to kidnap the Victim from within the United States for rendition to Iran in an effort to silence the Victim's criticism of the regime.
24% : The FBI, along with our partners in law enforcement, will continue to aggressively pursue individuals tasked by Iran or other hostile foreign governments to perform illegal action inside our borders or against our citizens.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.