{"id":298363,"date":"2021-07-14T03:18:57","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T00:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/feds-charge-4-iranians-in-plot-to-kidnap-nyc-journalist\/"},"modified":"2021-07-14T03:18:57","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T00:18:57","slug":"feds-charge-4-iranians-in-plot-to-kidnap-nyc-journalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/feds-charge-4-iranians-in-plot-to-kidnap-nyc-journalist\/","title":{"rendered":"#Feds charge 4 Iranians in plot to kidnap NYC journalist"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Feds charge 4 Iranians in plot to kidnap NYC journalist<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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Four Iranian intelligence operatives schemed to kidnap a Brooklyn-based journalist and smuggle her to Iran in a bid to silence her criticism of human-rights abuses in the Islamic republic, federal authorities said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

In a series<\/a> of tweets, writer and activist Masih Alinejad acknowledged she was the target<\/a>, and she did the same in an email to The Post, without commenting further.<\/p>\n

\"Mahmoud
Mahmoud Khazein and Alireza Shahvarohi Farahani were charged in the alleged plot.<\/figcaption>
US Attorney SDNY<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Kiya
Kiya Sadeghi and Omid Noori were also charged.<\/figcaption>
US Attorney SDNY<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A source familiar with the matter also confirmed Alinejad was the target.<\/p>\n

Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Strauss, who didn\u2019t identify Alinejad by name, said she would have faced a fate that\u2019s \u201cuncertain at best\u201d if the plan hadn\u2019t been foiled by the FBI.<\/p>\n

FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. also said, \u201cThis is not some far-fetched movie plot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe allege a group, backed by the Iranian government, conspired to kidnap a US-based journalist here on our soil and forcibly return her to Iran. Not on our watch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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I am grateful to FBI for foiling the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry’s plot to kidnap me. This plot was orchestrated under Rouhani. <\/p>\n

This is the regime that kidnapp<\/a>ed & executed Ruhollah Zam. They’ve also kidnapped and jailed Jamshid Sharmahd and many others pic.twitter.com\/HUefdEbiil<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Masih Alinejad \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f (@AlinejadMasih) July 14, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The ring, led by Iranian intelligence official Alireza Shavaroghi Farahani, allegedly began conspiring to kidnap Alinejad inside the US since as least as early as June 2020.<\/p>\n

Earlier, Iranian government officials in 2018 tried in vain to induce her relatives in Iran to invite her to a third country where she would have been arrested or detained and then imprisoned in Iran, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Evidence in the case allegedly includes a photo of Alinejad stored on an electronic device used by Farahani.<\/p>\n

\"FBI
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. warned that the threat was real and not a \u201cfar-fetched movie plot.\u201d<\/figcaption>
Photo by ANGELA WEISS\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That photo showed her alongside two other people who were captured by Iranian intelligence, one of whom was later executed while the other was imprisoned in Iran, authorities said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGradually the gathering gets bigger\u2026Are you coming, or should we come for you?\u201d a photo caption in Farsi allegedly said.<\/p>\n

The plan to kidnap Alinejad in the US allegedly included hiring private investigators to conduct multiple days of surveillance during which she and members of her household were photographed and recorded on video at and around her Brooklyn home. <\/p>\n

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\"The
The Iranian intelligence operatives wanted to keep Alinejad from reporting on human rights abuses in Iran.<\/figcaption>
Photo by Mike Coppola\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The plotters even arranged for a high-definition video livestream of the home to be set up and to be given descriptions of Alinejad\u2019s body language, according to authorities. <\/p>\n

Members of the kidnap ring allegedly researched travel<\/a> routes from Alinejad\u2019s home to a waterfront neighborhood in Brooklyn and looked into the possibility of hiring a company that uses military-style speedboats to evacuate people from New York City. <\/p>\n

They also allegedly weighed the possibility of taking her to Venezuela, where the social<\/a>ist regime has friendly relations with Iran. <\/p>\n

Farahani, 50, and the other intelligence operatives \u2014 Mahmoud Khazein, 42; Kiya Sadeghi, 34; and Omid Noori, 45 \u2014 were charged in a Manhattan federal court indictment with crimes including kidnapping conspiracy, sanctions violations conspiracy, and bank and wire fraud conspiracy. <\/p>\n

All four defendants are based in Iran and remain at large, officials said. <\/p>\n

Also named in Tuesday\u2019s indictment was Niloufar \u201cNellie\u201d Bahadorifar, 46, of California, who is alleged to have provided financial services that supported the plot, including arranging a payment to a private investigator for surveillance of Alinejad. <\/p>\n

Bahadorifar, who\u2019s originally from Iran, is not accused of being part of the kidnapping plot but was charged Tuesday with conspiring to violate sanctions against Iran, to commit bank and wire fraud, and to commit money laundering, as well as structuring more than $445,000 in cash deposits to evade reporting requirements. <\/p>\n

Bahadorifar was arrested July 1 in Irvine, Calif., on an earlier indictment and was released on a $250,000 bond, court records show. Bahadorifar\u2019s next court hearing is set for Oct. 15.\n <\/p><\/div>\n