The Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged four Iranian nationals for their alleged role in a murder-for-hire plot targeting Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American activist critical of the Islamic Republic.
The indictment charges Ruhollah Bazghandi for his alleged role in the murder plot targeting Alinejad—a journalist, author, and women’s rights activist. The indictment identifies Bazghandi as a member of the intelligence wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), previously sanctioned by the U.S. government.
The new indictment also names fellow Iranians Haj Taher, Hossein Sedighi, and Seyed Mohammad Forouzan as part of the murder-for-hire plot. Prosecutors refer to the four Iranians as the “Bazghandi Network” throughout the charging documents.
The indictment describes Taher and Sedighi as having various contacts with the Iranian government and describes Forouzan as calling himself a member of an IRGC-organized volunteer militia known as Basij.
The four Iranians are charged with murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and sanctions against the Government of Iran. The murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire conspiracy charges each carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, while the money laundering and sanctions violations charges each carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
Prosecutors previously charged Khalid Mehdiyev, Polad Omarov, Rafat Amirov, and Zialat Mamedov in connection with the murder plot against Alinejad. Prosecutors described Mehdiyev, Omarov, Amirov, and Mamedov as members of an Eastern Europe-based crime ring with ties to Iran.
Previous charging documents alleged Mehdiyev, Omarov, Amirov, and Mamedov were hired by Iranian intelligence networks to kill Alinejad, but didn’t initially identify their alleged Iranian handlers.
The new indictment is the first to officially identify the Iranian individuals involved in the murder-for-hire plot.
Mehdiyev, Amirov, and Omarov are in U.S. custody, while Mamedov was extradited from the Czech Republic to Georgia to face charges there.
The four Iranian defendants remain at large.
U.S. prosecutors have said Alinejad was the target of a 2021 plot to kidnap and take her back to Iran. The prosecutors allege the Bazghandi Network moved forward with the murder plot after the FBI disrupted the earlier kidnapping plan.
Authorities broke up this second plot targeting Alinejad after they arrested Mehdiyev on July 28, 2022, near Alinejad’s home. At the time of the arrest, authorities found Mehdiyev—a resident of Yonkers—in possession of an AK-47-style rifle, 66 rounds of ammunition, approximately $1,100 in cash, and a black ski mask.
Prosecutors linked the Bazghandi Network to the murder plot through their internet searches and communications.
Prosecutors allege Bazghandi communicated the murder plot to Taher, who relayed the message to Forouzan. The indictment describes several phone calls between Forouzan and Amirov in September of 2022, discussing Mehdiyev’s arrest earlier that summer.
The indictment describes further internet searches and communications among the Bazghandi Network that focused on the January 2023 arrests of Amirov and Omarov.
“I had a meeting with the [FBI] and DOJ, can’t share the news yet, but it’s another beautiful day. [Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]! Every time you and your IRGC are humiliated, it’s a victory for us,” she wrote in her social media post. “I’ve moved 21 times between safe houses, but I’m stronger than ever.”
