Gunman Accused of Stalking Iranian Dissident in Brooklyn

Masih Alinejad is a 45-year-old Iranian journalist and human rights activist who was publicly spoken out against the Iranian regime.  Her campaign gained supporters from all over the world and enabled her to meet man prominent figures who expressed support for her efforts, individuals such as former Secretary of state Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.  In addition to publicly speaking and publishing many articles opposing Iran, Masih wrote a book detailing her struggle entitled The Wind in My Hair.  However, history has long proved that tyrants will do everything in their power to silence their dissidents, and Iran is no exception.  


For years, Iran waged a smear campaign seeking to discredit Masih, but they have not stopped there.  In 2021, the FBI revealed that they foiled a plot by Iran to kidnap Masih.  The FBI stated that four Iranian agents had been following Masih's movement for a year and plotted to try and kidnap her and take her to Venezuela, a nation with close ties to Iran, and then take her back to Iran for trial.  Now, at the end of the month of July, the FBI revealed that they arrested Khalid Mehdiyev, a resident of Yonkers who apparently spent several days studying Masih's home.  The authorities revealed that Khalid had been in his car observing Masih's home for two days and Masih's doorbell camera revealed that he came to the front door several times to where he is seen to be scoping out the house, seeking a way inside.  When the authorities arrested Khalid, they caught him with over $1000 is cash, and AK-47 assault rifle, and over 60 rounds of ammo.  

Masih believes that this was yet another attempt by Iran to silence her, only now they are willing to resort to outright killing her on U.S. soil.  Despite this ever present danger, Masih refused to be silenced.  In a public statement, she told the Iranian regime to "Go to hell. I'm not scared of you. I have only one life. You care about power. I care about my dignity and freedom like millions of other people inside Iran. I'm not scared of you. You can kill me, but you cannot kill the idea. The idea is just fighting for freedom, dignity."


Sources:

Campbell, Josh & Elliot C. McLaughlin.  "'Go to Hell' Journalist Tells Iran After a Man with Loaded Rifle was Arrested near Her Brooklyn Home."  CNN.  Aug. 01, 2022.  Accessed from https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/31/us/iranian-journalist-masih-alinejad-man-arrested-ak-47/index.html

Marino, Joe & Patrick Reilly.  "Man Arrested with AK-47 Outside of Dissident Iranian Journalist's Brooklyn Home."  New York Post.  July 31, 2022.  Accessed from https://nypost.com/2022/07/31/nypd-arrest-man-with-ak-47-outside-of-iranian-journalist-masih-alinejads-nyc-home/.

"Masih Alinejad: Iranians 'Plotted to Kidnap U.S., Canada, & UK Targets.'"  BBC.  July 14, 2021.  Accessed from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57830677.

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