Masih Alinejad is a controversial New York resident who has sought safety in the U.S. after becoming an enemy of the government of Iran. According to prosecutors in an ongoing trial, Alinejad is so despised by the Iranian government that they created an entire plot to assassinate Alinejad at her NYC home.

Thankfully, the two “hired guns” in the assassination plot, Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarav, were never successful in their alleged murder-for-hire scheme.

In fact, the suspect’s legal team is arguing that the suspects never actually intended to kill Alinejad and instead were simply scamming the government and stealing their money.

Court records show that Alinejad became a target for the Iranian government after becoming a very vocal human rights activist and starting to really speak out about Iran’s restrictions on women around 2009. Reports show that Alinejad called the hijab, which is compulsory in Iran, the “Berlin Wall” of the regime in power. In 2014, she launched a campaign called My Stealthy Freedom, which encouraged women in Iran to break the law, put themselves at risk, and record themselves without hijabs. Alinejad collected the videos and posted them online.

Iranian leaders believed that Alinejad’s rhetoric was dangerous, so Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attempted to send individuals to kidnap her back in 2021. One year later, the U.S. Justice Department believes that a similar plot to assassinate Alinejad was crafted by the regime.

Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov are both natives of Azerbaijan. They’re suspected of hiring Khalid Mahdiyev to murder Alinejad in 2022. Mahdiyev was arrested when he was in Alinejad’s neighborhood and ran a stop sign in front of a police officer. When he was pulled over, the police discovered he had a suspended driver’s license. Upon further investigation, the authorities also discovered a loaded AK-47 and a ski mask in the car.

When investigators questioned Mahdiyev, he told them that he was hired by the two suspects to kill the journalist. Mahdiyev testified while on the stand that he is a known Azerbaijan assassin who has directed countless murders, kidnappings, and extortion plots.

He also said he knew the target of the murder plot. He made these confessions as part of a plea deal.

Can You Use a Government Order as a Solid Legal Defense Strategy?

Attempting to use a government order as a legal defense is a viable legal defense strategy, though it would be difficult to prove in the situation above and in similar situations. Governments do not typically conduct murder-for-hire plots, and even if they did, it would be extremely difficult to secure evidence to show the government was complicit in the violent conspiracy.

Considering that, you’d need an extremely qualified and experienced legal advocate by your side if you were to get caught up in a similar situation.

Here at Bukh Law Firm, our team of attorneys is confident that we can help you navigate your legal situation if you were recently charged with a crime around Brooklyn.

Schedule a call with our team of passionate Brooklyn lawyers now to get started.