A journalist from Iran testified Tuesday in the trial of two men accused of hiring a hitman to kidnap and kill her in 2022 over her criticism of the Iranian regime.
Mashi Alinejad testified for more than two hours at the trial of Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov in federal court in New York City. The men have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including murder-for-hire.
U.S. prosecutors say the murder plot was orchestrated from Iran to stop Alinejad from speaking out about human rights abuses in her home country.
“We don’t have free media in Iran,” she said, recounting her years covering politics as a young journalist who frequently clashed with the country’s authorities who sought to control the news she produced.
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Alinejad moved to the United States in 2009 following Iran’s disputed presidential election. In the U.S., Alinejad launched online campaigns to encourage women in Iran to pose for pictures and videos showing their hair, in defiance of a religious rule requiring a headscarf.
Alinejad, who appeared on the stand with curly, black hair, said that in Iran a cleric had once told her “I’m going to punch on your face if you don’t cover your hair proper.”
She said authorities in Iran have consistently tried to derail her messages by calling her a prostitute, a CIA agent or even “an agent” of President Donald Trump.
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The dissident journalist testified that after the assassination attempt was discovered, she received so many threats and insults that she felt “broken a little bit.”
Alinejad’s testimony came a week after a former member of the Russian mob testified that he took photographs and videos outside her Brooklyn home after he was hired to assassinate her. Before he could, he was stopped by police for running a stop sign. He was arrested after a loaded AK-47 assault rifle was found in his backseat.
Defense lawyers for Amirov and Omarov have told jurors that prosecutors’ evidence was merely circumstantial and there isn’t enough proof for a conviction.
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A judge told jurors Monday that they may start deliberating by the end of this week.
Fox News’ Grace Taggart and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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