At trial’s start, prosecutor blames Iran for plot to assassinate outspoken dissident

NEW YORK — Two members of an Eastern European criminal organization were “hired guns for the government of Iran” in a plot to assassinate an Iran-born journalist at her New York City residence three years ago, a prosecutor told a federal jury in an opening statement on Tuesday at the start of a trial for the men. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Gutwillig said the plot to assassinate Masih Alinejad was part of Iran’s more than decade-long quest to silence a woman who exposed the Iranian regime for human rights abuses and for silencing political expression. By day’s end, though, her accused would-be assassin was testifying for the government, prompting Alinejad to post on social media that she was “overwhelmed with mixed emotions.” “You might find this hard to believe — but for simply posting videos of myself showing my hair and encouraging women in Iran to do the same, the regime sent a man with an AK-47 to my house in Brooklyn to kill me,” she said. She will describe why she stands up to the Iranian regime, Gutwillig said, and why she “refuses to back down.” “Masih Alinejad inspires others in Iran and around the world to do the same thing.