Last defendant extradited in murder-for-hire plot targeting journalist

WASHINGTON (CN) — The Czech Republic on Wednesday extradited a man to face charges in New York for his alleged role in a thwarted murder-for-hire plot of a U.S.-based Iranian journalist. 

The Department of Justice announced that Polad Omarov has arrived in New York to face charges of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Omarov is charged alongside Rafat Amirov and Khalid Mehdiyev. Prosecutors allege Omarov and Amirov are leaders in an Eastern Europe organized crime group called Thieves In Law, a mafia organization based in various former states of the Soviet Union whose members are often identified by tattoos of eight-pointed stars.

Omarov and Amirov are allegedly leaders of the organization and contracted Mehdiyev, a lower-ranking member, to murder the journalist, who was living in Brooklyn. Although prosecutors didn’t name the journalist, media outlets have identified her as Masih Alinejad.

Alinejad, who fled Iran in 2009 and became a U.S. citizen in 2019, is a vocal critic of Iranian laws mandating women wear head coverings and was allegedly the subject of a kidnapping plot in 2021. She has become a prominent figure on Farsi-language satellite channels abroad that criticize Iran.

Prosecutors did not directly provide evidence that the murder-for-hire plot was at the behest of the Iranian government, but noted in the indictment that the victim has previously faced intimidation and threats from the government.

“The audacious alleged plot to kidnap and murder the victim are indicative of Iran’s policies of aggressive suppression and violence against anyone who speaks against them,” U.S. Attorney Damian Willaims said in a press release.

Amirov, who resided in Iran, allegedly contacted Omarov in July 2022 with targeting information “received from other individuals in Iran.” Omarov then allegedly contacted Mehdiyev, who lived in Yonkers, New York, and paid $30,000 for him to carry out the hit.

Mehdiyev conducted surveillance of the victim’s apartment in July 2022 and was stopped for a traffic violation after one unsuccessful attempt to establish contact. Police recovered an AK-47, 66 rounds of ammunition, approximately $1,100 in cash and a black ski mask from his vehicle.

Omarov, 39, was arrested in the Czech Republic on Jan. 4, 2023. 

“We are grateful to our Czech government counterparts for this extradition,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “The Department of Justice will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to undermine the rights to which every American citizen is entitled.”

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