(AP) Two purported mobsters were convicted Thursday of plotting to assassinate Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad at her home in New York City in a murder-for-hire scheme that prosecutors said was financed by Iran’s government.
The verdict was returned at a federal court in New York, ending a two-week trial that featured dramatic testimony from a hired gunman and Alinejad, an author, activist and contributor to Voice of America.
Alinejad, who was not in court, told the Associated Press she cried when she learned of the verdict.
“I am relieved that after nearly three years, the men who plotted to kill me have been found guilty. But make no mistake, the real masterminds of this crime are still in power in Iran,” she said. “Right now I am bombarded with emotions. I have cried. I have laughed. I have even danced.”
