The Czech Republic has extradited a man facing charges in the United States for plotting the murder of a prominent critic of Iran's government.
Polad Omarov was handed over to representatives of U.S. authorities at the Prague Vaclav Havel Airport on Wednesday morning after exhausting all appeal options. He was arrested in the Czech Republic in January 2023.
The Ministry of Justice had previously ruled in favor of extradition in July of last year, but the process was delayed due to the suspect's complaint with the constitutional court, which was ultimately rejected.
Omarov, along with Rafat Amirov and Khalid Mehdiyev, were charged with murder-for-hire and money laundering for their roles in a thwarted assassination attempt.
The intended victim, a U.S. citizen residing in Brooklyn, New York, was not named in the U.S.'s January 2023 charges. However, Mehdiyev was arrested in 2022 for possessing a rifle outside the Brooklyn home of journalist Masih Alinejad.
The U.S. also charged four Iranians in 2021 for allegedly plotting to kidnap a New York-based journalist and activist, believed to be Alinejad.
U.S. prosecutors have stated that Omarov was a resident of the Czech Republic and Slovenia, but the Czech Justice Ministry claims he is a citizen of Georgia.
The Ministry of Justice had previously ruled in favor of extradition in July of last year, but the process was delayed due to the suspect's complaint with the constitutional court, which was ultimately rejected.
Omarov, along with Rafat Amirov and Khalid Mehdiyev, were charged with murder-for-hire and money laundering for their roles in a thwarted assassination attempt.
The intended victim, a U.S. citizen residing in Brooklyn, New York, was not named in the U.S.'s January 2023 charges. However, Mehdiyev was arrested in 2022 for possessing a rifle outside the Brooklyn home of journalist Masih Alinejad.
The U.S. also charged four Iranians in 2021 for allegedly plotting to kidnap a New York-based journalist and activist, believed to be Alinejad.
U.S. prosecutors have stated that Omarov was a resident of the Czech Republic and Slovenia, but the Czech Justice Ministry claims he is a citizen of Georgia.
Source: Reuters
More In Society MORE...
