US Federal Police foil Masih Alinejad kidnapping plot
The US Justice Department has indicted four Iranian intelligence agents on suspicion of attempted kidnapping. The team of agents planned to kidnap Masih Alinejad from his home in Brooklyn and take him to Venezuela by speedboat.
An attempt by an Islamic Republic intelligence team to kidnap Masih Alinejad and transfer him to a third country was thwarted by the US Federal Police. The US Department of Justice's statement identified the individuals as Alireza Shahvaroghi Farahani, Mahmoud Khazein, Kia Sadeghi, and Omid Nouri.
All four, identified as members of an Islamic Republic intelligence network, are based in Iran. The team, led by Alireza Farahani, is said to have planned to kidnap Alinejad from his home in Brooklyn, take him to the beach, and transport him to Venezuela by speedboat.
The US Justice Department statement stated that Islamic Republic agents had hired a private investigator to target Masih Alinejad over the past two years.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York said that the four defendants in the case had been monitoring Masih Alinejad for a long time and were trying to lure him to a third country, forcibly kidnap him, and take him to Iran: "Where it was unknown what fate he would face."
An Iranian woman living in California has also been arrested and questioned in connection with the case. Niloufar Bahadorifar was arrested two weeks ago on charges including “financing a kidnapping plot,” “conspiracy to violate sanctions, bank fraud, and money laundering,” but is now free on bail.
The four fugitives who are now wanted are charged with conspiracy to violate US sanctions, conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, and conspiracy to launder money, in addition to kidnapping charges.
Masih Alinejad thanked the US Federal Police on Twitter for thwarting his kidnapping plot.
This journalist and activist had previously said that Islamic Republic agents wanted to trick him into taking him to Türkiye and kidnapping him.
According to the prosecution, the plan to kidnap Alinejad was part of a larger scheme that included the deception and transfer of three other people from Canada and one person from Britain.
In a statement announcing the foiling of the kidnapping plot, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York stated that it is the right of citizens to defend freedom of expression and human rights without fear of foreign intelligence services.
Source: DW
