Planned murder of a journalist: US charges against three men with ties to Iran Putin cannot be charged ++ “Gold of Crimea” to be awarded to Ukraine

Prosecutors in New York have charged three men with ties to Iran with the alleged attempted murder of a US citizen. According to the US Department of Justice, the suspects belong to a gang in Eastern Europe. Apparently they were targeting a journalist and activist with Iranian roots from the Brooklyn borough. According to the indictment, one of the men, who lived in upstate New York, bought an AK-47 assault rifle with which he intended to kill the woman. His arrest in July likely thwarted the crime.

The other two suspects were also arrested — the Iranian leader of the group is in US custody, while the United States had requested extradition to the Czech Republic for the other, it said. The leader is to be brought before a magistrate on Friday. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the victim denounced human rights violations by the Iranian government. That is why Tehran targets them. “The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to undermine these protections and the rule of law on which our democracy is based.”

According to the United States, this is not the first time that Iran has targeted the journalist. In the summer of 2021, the New York prosecutor’s office had already charged four employees or informants of the Iranian secret service with the planned kidnapping of the human rights activist. That is why they wanted to kidnap them to Iran at the time. So far there has been no trial without the accused. Tehran had described the allegations as “baseless and ridiculous”.

The US Justice Department has not named the victims. According to media reports, the author and activist Masih Alinejad is involved. She wrote on her verified Twitter account: “I just learned from 12 FBI officials that the three men hired by the Iranian regime to kill me on American soil have been charged. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been conducting these terror operations for four decades out.” Referring to the terrorist militia Islamic State, she added: “The Islamic Republic is ISIS with oil.” (sda/dpa)