Turkiye’s independent news websites face closure risk after Google changes

NEW YORK: A self-professed member of a Russian organized crime group said on Tuesday he once tried to kill an Iranian-American female journalist and activist, making the admission in testimony at a US trial of two associates.
Khalid Mehdiyev, 27, told jurors he was arrested in July 2022 in his car in Brooklyn, while in possession of an AK-47 rifle and a ski mask.
“I was there to try to kill the journalist,” Mehdiyev said in Manhattan federal court.
Prosecutors say Mehdiyev was hired by the associates Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov to kill Masih Alinejad, a New York-based journalist who left Iran in 2009 and is known for outspoken criticism of the government in Tehran and its treatment of women.
Amirov, 45, and Omarov, 40, have pleaded not guilty to murder for hire and attempted murder in aid of racketeering. They could face decades in prison if convicted.
In his opening statement on Tuesday, federal prosecutor Jacob Gutwillig said Iran’s government offered to pay Amirov and Omarov $500,000 to orchestrate Alinejad’s murder.
“The defendants were hired guns for the government of Iran,” Gutwillig said. “Masih Alinejad was almost gunned down on the streets of New York City by a hitman sent by the defendants.”
Amirov’s lawyer, Michael Martin, countered that prosecutors were relying on circumstantial evidence and “the testimony of a murderer and a liar.”
Michael Perkins, a lawyer for Omarov, said the evidence would not show his client intended to kill Alinejad.
A representative for Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On the stand, Mehdiyev testified that he directed murders, kidnappings and extortion plots during a life of crime that began a decade ago in his native Azerbaijan.
He also said he knew the target of the murder plot underlying the case against Amirov and Omarov as “Masih.”
Mehdiyev said he is cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty to attempted murder and illegal possession of a firearm, and faces a minimum of 15 years in prison for the attempt on Alinejad’s life and separate racketeering charges.
Tehran has called separate allegations that four Iranian intelligence officers sought to kidnap Alinejad in 2021 “baseless.”

DUBAI: The UAE’s National Media Office has announced the launch of the Bridge Summit to “explore the future of media.”

Set to take place from Dec. 8-10 in Abu Dhabi, the summit also seeks to “lead transformation in the sector, and enhance its contribution to the global economy,” according to a press statement.

The forum will feature a media production exhibition and aims to attract CEOs, state leaders, and media professionals and experts from around the world.

The announcement was made by Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Butti Al-Hamed, chairman of UAE’s National Media Office and chairman of the board of directors of the UAE Media Council, during an event in Washington.

He said: “We launched the Bridge Summit to foster meaningful dialogue, develop solutions to current and future media challenges, and support the sustainable growth of this vital sector.”

Al-Hamed also announced the launch of the Bridge Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at empowering media professionals and elevating the media sector through training programs and research grants.

It will also support media startups through opportunities for funding and international partnerships.

The launch of the foundation is in line with the country’s “vision to position media as a powerful driver of development” contributing to “a more impactful media ecosystem that upholds societal values and advances sustainable development,” Al-Hamed said.