Two Russian mobsters were each sentenced to 25 years in jail on Wednesday for hiring a hitman to kill Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad at her US home three years ago for the Iranian government.
“I crossed an ocean to come to America and have a normal life and I don’t have a normal life,” Ms Alinejad said just before Judge Colleen McMahon announced the sentences in Manhattan federal court for Rafat Amirov, 46, and Polad Omarov, 41.
“I’m a brave woman. I’m a strong woman. They couldn’t break me. But they brought fear to my life. These criminals turned my life upside down,” Ms Alinejad said as she spoke at a lectern near the men, who sat in prison uniforms with their hands folded in front of them. She urged the judge to send a message “to the regime and the women of Iran".
Ms McMahon said the men had committed a “terrible, terrible crime” and that she hoped her sentence would alert foreign gangs and powers “that this kind of conduct will not be tolerated by the United States".
Outside the court afterwards, Ms Alinejad appeared with Barry Rosen, one of more than 50 Americans who were seized in Iran in 1979 and held hostage for more than 14 months.
“Justice is beautiful,” she said as she held a sunflower someone had given her. She said Mr Rosen, who had a gun held to his head when he was a hostage, “is here to stand by my side to see justice".
Mr Rosen called Ms Alinejad “one of the most important people in the world” for her efforts to give voice to the voiceless in Iran and elsewhere around the globe.
At the sentencing proceeding, assistant US attorney Michael Lockard had urged Ms McMahon to send the convicted men away for 55 years. He said Iranian leaders had hoped to silence a woman who has a bigger social media following than the supreme leader of Iran.
Mr Lockard said the intended target of the assassination plot was not just Ms Alinejad, “but those millions of people who look to Masih Alinejad to be their voice, to promote their cause and to shine a light on the corrupt and deadly tactics of the government of Iran".
Prosecutors said Amirov, of Iran, and Omarov, of Georgia, were crime bosses in the Russian mob, motivated by $500,000 offered for the death of Ms Alinejad.
Before he was sentenced, Amirov urged the judge not to “take into account only my associations” and to understand that the descriptions of violence associated with the mob “is not who we are”. His lawyers requested he serve no more than 13 years in prison.
Omarov declined to speak. His lawyer, Elena Fast, said her client should not be imprisoned for more than 10 years.
The men were convicted in a two-week March trial that featured dramatic testimony from a hired gunman and Ms Alinejad, an author, activist and contributor to Voice of America.
Prosecutors said the men were high-ranking members of the Gulici, a faction of the Russian Mob that carried out murders, assaults, extortions, kidnappings, robberies and arson in the US and abroad.
Ms Alinejad, 49, has led online campaigns encouraging women in Iran to record videos of themselves exposing their hair to protest against compulsory head coverings in public.
Prosecutors said Iranian intelligence officials first plotted in 2020 and 2021 to kidnap her in the US and move her to Iran to silence her criticism.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
The five pillars of Islam
Rafael Nadal's record at the MWTC
2009 Finalist
2010 Champion
Jan 2011 Champion
Dec 2011 Semi-finalist
Dec 2012 Did not play
Dec 2013 Semi-finalist
2015 Semi-finalist
Jan 2016 Champion
Dec 2016 Champion
2017 Did not play
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
