Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad testifies at the trial of two men accused of plotting to kill her

NEW YORK (AP) — A journalist from Iran who prosecutors say was targeted by her former homeland's government for assassination said Tuesday that Tehran calling her a prostitute and an agent of the U.S. president left her feeling broken but resilient, and with a magnificent garden.

Testifying at the trial of two men charged in the plot, Masih Alinejad said she responded to every threat by planting a flower.

“That's why I have a beautiful, massive garden ... because I face a lot of curses and threats,” the naturalized U.S. citizen told jurors in Manhattan federal court.

For over two hours, she responded to gentle questioning from Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Lockard, who guided her through a recounting of her childhood in Iran and her years as a young journalist trying to cover politics in a country where she frequently clashed with authorities who sought to control the news she produced.

“We don't have free media in Iran,” she said, her curly black hair so thick and wild that it seemed her narrow face strained to poke through.

She left Iran in 2009 following the country’s disputed 2009 presidential election and moved to the United States, where she launched online campaigns to encourage women in Iran to pose for pictures and videos showing their hair.

Alinejad's testimony came a week after a former member of the Russian mob testified that he took photographs and videos outside her Brooklyn home in July 2022 after he was hired to assassinate her. Before he could, he was stopped by police for running a stop sign and was arrested after a loaded AK-47 assault rifle was found in his backseat.

In Iran, she said, she was tormented by the extreme punishment women faced if hair was not covered at all times in public.

Once, she said, a cleric told her “I'm going to punch on your face if you don't cover your hair proper.”

Alinejad, an author and contributor to Voice of America, became a U.S. citizen in October 2019. She has traveled the world speaking to women and encouraging others to join her movement for freedom of expression by women, particularly those in Iran.

She said authorities in Iran have consistently tried to derail her messages by calling her a prostitute, a CIA agent or even “an agent” of President Donald Trump.

In 2022, shortly before the FBI moved her out of her home after the assassination plot was discovered, she said the threats and insults had become so severe that she felt “broken a little bit.”

It was then that she carried a list of threats and insults to her garden “and said every single threat I hear, I plant a flower.”

Her testimony was presented at the trial of Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, natives of Azerbaijan, which shares a border and cultural ties with Iran. The men have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including murder-for-hire.

Defense lawyers for Amirov and Omarov have told jurors that prosecutors’ evidence was merely circumstantial.

At the trial's start, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Gutwillig said Alinejad became a target of Iran after encouraging women to share messages and videos protesting the regime by refusing to wear head coverings, or hijabs. Many were subjected to arrest or beatings by Iran's morality police.

“She shared them with millions. She shined a light on the government of Iran’s oppression of women, and that enraged the regime,” Gutwillig said.

The trial's judge told jurors Monday that they may be deliberating by the end of this week.

Masih Alinejad greets friends and supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of her would-be assassins in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Masih Alinejad greets friends and supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of her alleged would-be assassins in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Masih Alinejad greets friends and supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of two men accused of allegedly plotting to kill her in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Masih Alinejad greets friends and supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of her would-be assassins in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Masih Alinejad blows a kiss to supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of her would-be assassins in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Masih Alinejad greets friends and supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of her would-be assassins in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Masih Alinejad greets friends and supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of two men accused of allegedly plotting to kill her in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Masih Alinejad blows a kiss to supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of her would-be assassins in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

FILE - Masih Alinejad, 48, a prominent Iranian American human rights activist gives an interview Press in Berlin, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Dozens of people are presumed dead and about 100 injured, most of them seriously, following a fire at a Swiss Alps bar during a New Year’s celebration, police said Thursday.

“Several tens of people” were killed at the bar, Le Constellation, Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said.

Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families but “that will take time and for the time being it is premature to give you a more precise figure," Gisler said.

Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the Valais Canton, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.

“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.

Officials called the blaze an “embrasement généralisé,” a firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraft.

“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Rénard, head of the regional government.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Rénard said.

Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.

“We are devastated,” Frédéric Gisler, commander of the Valais Cantonal police, said during a news conference.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, according to regional councilor Mathias Rénard.

The municipality had banned New Year’s Eve fireworks due to lack of rainfall in the past month, according to its website.

In a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid any accidents that could require medical resources that are already overwhelmed.

The community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the Matterhorn, one of the most famous Alpine peaks, and 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Zurich.

The highest point of Crans-Montana, with a population of 10,000 residents, sits at an elevation of nearly 3,000 meters (1.86 miles), according to the municipality’s website, which says officials are seeking to move away from a tourist culture and attract high-tech research and development.

The municipality was formed only nine years ago, on Jan. 1, 2017, when multiple towns merged. It extends over 590 hectares (2.3 square miles) from the Rhône Valley to the Plaine Morte glacier.

Crans-Montana is one of the top race venues on the World Cup circuit in Alpine skiing and will host the next world championships over two weeks in February 2027.

In four weeks’ time, the resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers for their last events before going to the Milan Cortina Olympics, which open Feb. 6.

Crans-Montana also is a premium venue in international golf. The Crans-sur-Sierre club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course with stunning mountains views.

From left, Mathias Reynard, State Councillor and president of the Council of State of the Canton of Valais, Stephane Ganzer, State Councillor and head of the Department of Security, Institutions and Sport of the Canton of Valais, Frederic Gisler, Commander of the Valais Cantonal Police, Beatrice Pilloud, Attorney General of the Canton of Valais and Nicole Bonvin-Clivaz, Vice-President of the Municipal Council of Crans-Montana during a press conference in Lens, following a fire that broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

A skier walks in the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

A banner stating that fireworks are prohibited due to the risk of fire is pictured near the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)