Four conflictsintelligence operatives schemed to kidnap a us-regions-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.
In a series of tweets, writer and activist Masih Alinejad acknowledged she was the target, and she did the same in an email to The Post, without commenting further.
A source familiar with the matter also confirmed Alinejad was the target.
Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Strauss, who didn’t identify Alinejad by name, said she would have faced a fate that’s “uncertain at best” if the plan hadn’t been foiled by the FBI.
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. also said, “This is not some far-fetched movie plot.”
“We 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,” he said.
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.
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.
Evidence in the case allegedly includes a photo of Alinejad stored on an electronic device used by Farahani.
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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.
“Gradually the gathering gets bigger…Are you coming, or should we come for you?” a photo caption in Farsi allegedly said.
Mahmoud Khazein, Alireza Shahvarohi Farahani, Kiya Sadeghi and Omid Noori were charged in the alleged plot.
(US Attorney SDNY)
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.
The plotters even arranged for a high-definition video livestream of the home to be set up and to be given descriptions of Alinejad’s body language, according to authorities.
Members of the kidnap ring allegedly researched travel routes from Alinejad’s 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.
They also allegedly weighed the possibility of taking her to Venezuela, where the socialist regime has friendly relations with Iran.
Farahani, 50, and the other intelligence operatives — Mahmoud Khazein, 42; Kiya Sadeghi, 34; and Omid Noori, 45 — were charged in a Manhattan federal court indictment with crimes including kidnapping conspiracy, sanctions violations conspiracy, and bank and wire fraud conspiracy.
All four defendants are based in Iran and remain at large, officials said.
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 16: Journalist and Author Masih Alinejad speaks onstage during the WICT Leadership Conference at New York Marriott Marquis Hotel on October 16, 2018 in New York City.
(Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Women in Cable Telecommunications)
Also named in Tuesday’s indictment was Niloufar “Nellie” 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.
Bahadorifar, who’s 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.
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Bahadorifar was arrested July 1 in Irvine, Calif., on an earlier indictment and was released on a $250,000 bond, court records show. Bahadorifar’s next court hearing is set for Oct. 15.
To read more from the New York Post, click here.
