January 27, 2023

The Clarity Coalition, a pro-freedom group that includes many Muslims, expresses its alarm that Iranian agents are operating in the US to ruthlessly silence Islamist regime dissidents and extends its gratitude to US officials for taking action to protect Iranian-American human rights advocate and journalist,  Masih Alinejad.

The Brooklyn-based Alinejad is well known for her various social media campaigns and writings in support of women who defy Iran’s mandatory hijab laws and for defending them and other Iranians against human rights abuse. For these reasons, Alinejad was the target of two recent attacks on her life in New York by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

On January 27, 2023, the US Justice Department brought charges in a NY court against three men involved in an Iranian regime-backed plot in 2022 to kill Alinejad. Two are now in custody and one is awaiting extradition to the US. In 2021, the FBI thwarted the attempted kidnapping of Alinejad with plans to forcibly take her to Iran. In that attempt, an Iranian intelligence official and three others were charged with plotting to kidnap the victim.

Other attacks have included character assassinations in Iranian media, IRGC harassment of her family, including forcing Alinejad’s mother to publicly denounce her, and the imprisonment of her brother when he refused to denounce his sister.

CLARITy coalition members support liberty and dignity for all persons, including women and girls, whether or not one is Muslim. We acknowledge the immense bravery of human rights activists from Islamic theocracies like the Islamic State of Iran, Saudi Arabia, or from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. We recognize that speaking up against totalitarian regimes is near impossible when you live under them and still brutally dangerous even when you live in a free country. We stand in firm solidarity with Masih Alinejad against the tyrannical regime of Iran and in support of women who reject religious dress codes that violate their rights to freedom of expression and religious freedom.