A U.S. federal judge Thursday sentenced two high-ranking members of the Russian Mob, Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, to 25 years in prison each for their participation in a brazen murder-for-hire plot targeting Iranian-American journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad on U.S. soil.
The Justice Department announced Thursday that U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon imposed the sentences after a two-week trial in March 2025, where Amirov and Omarov were found guilty of murder-for-hire, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and related charges.
Orchestrated by Iran
According to court filings and trial evidence, the plot was orchestrated by high-ranking members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who offered Amirov, a “Vor” or Thief-in-Law (the highest rank in the Russian Mob), $500,000 for Alinejad’s murder.
Masih Alinejad has long been a vocal critic of the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses, especially its treatment of women. The IRGC turned to the criminal organization after multiple failed attempts to kidnap Ms. Alinejad from the United States in 2020 and 2021.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg stated that the defendants “came chillingly close to gunning down an Iranian-American journalist on the streets of New York,” highlighting that the case is part of a “well-documented and disturbing rise in plots involving criminal networks paid by Iran to target dissidents in the United States and around the world.”
The Plot’s Execution
The convicted men used their criminal network to execute the assassination plan:
- Rafat Amirov, 46, of Iran, received targeting information—including Ms. Alinejad’s home address—from his IRGC contacts and passed it to his associate, Polad Omarov, 41, of Georgia.
- Polad Omarov communicated with a third member of the organization, Khalid Mehdiyev, who was residing in Yonkers, New York, to conduct surveillance and commit the murder.
- Amirov and Omarov arranged a $30,000 advance payment from the IRGC, which Mehdiyev used to purchase an AK-47 style assault rifle, two magazines, and 66 rounds of ammunition.
- In late July 2022, Mehdiyev repeatedly staked out Ms. Alinejad’s residence in Brooklyn, sending photos and updates to Omarov, who relayed them to Amirov.
- The plot culminated on July 27-28, 2022, when Omarov told Amirov that Mehdiyev was ready to kill the journalist, stating, “this matter will be over today.”
- The plot was foiled when Mehdiyev was stopped for a traffic violation and police discovered the loaded assault rifle, ammunition, cash, and a ski mask in his vehicle.
Strong Message to Foreign Aggressors
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton emphasized that the plot “involved actors on three continents, culminating with a hitman with an AK-47 outside Ms. Alinejad’s apartment in Brooklyn.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia stated that Amirov and Omarov “operated as unlawful enforcers for a foreign government to target an American journalist on our nation’s soil,” adding that the sentencing should “emphasize the FBI’s steadfast commitment to protecting Americans against any foreign actor seeking to inflict terror and physical harm.”
READ: FBI Foils ‘Potential Terrorist Attack’ In Michigan, Multiple Subjects Arrested
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