BERLIN (AP) — In the middle of a Berlin hotel cafe, Masih Alinejad raises her voice and starts singing at the top of her lungs in Farsi, as waiters turn to watch along with the three German government bodyguards assigned to protect her.
“I blossom through my wounds and my scars,” she translates the lyrics as. “Because I am a woman. I am a woman. I am a woman.”
Alinejad was expressing her defiance and asserting her right to express herself following the news of Iranian murder-for-hire plots to kill her and Donald Trump that were disclosed by the U.S. Justice Department. She said that some Iranian women had been jailed for singing.
The Iranian American human rights activist, who was in Berlin on Saturday to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall together with other human rights activists from around the globe, told The Associated Press in an interview that despite the shock of the news, she felt more determination than ever to continue fighting for women's rights in Iran.
“They want to get rid of me. When they want me dead, it means that I’m doing something. I’m hurting them so bad," Alinejad, 48, said, referring to the Iranian government. “I’m echoing the voice of powerful women and that scares them.”
She raised her hand in a defiant fist repeatedly during the interview.
On Friday, the U.S. Justice Department said that it was charging a man who said he had been tasked by a government official before this week’s election with planning the assassination of Trump.
Investigators were told of the plan by Farhad Shakeri, an accused Iranian government asset who spent time in American prisons for robbery and who authorities say maintains a network of criminal associates enlisted by Tehran for surveillance and murder-for-hire plots.
Shakeri is at large and remains in Iran. Two other men — identified as Jonathan Loadholt and Carlisle Rivera by the U.S. Justice Department — were arrested on charges that Shakeri recruited them to follow and kill Alinejad, who has endured multiple Iranian murder-for-hire plots foiled by law enforcement.
The Justice Department alleges that the two men spent months conducting surveillance on her and, during their efforts to locate and kill her, shared messages about their progress and photographs.
Around February, they traveled to Fairfield University in Connecticut, where Alinejad was scheduled to appear and took photos of the campus.
Around April, Shakeri sent Rivera a series of voice notes discussing their efforts to locate and kill her, the Justice Department said in a statement Friday.
In one voice note, Shakeri told Rivera that “you gotta wait and have patience to catch her either going in the house or coming out, or following her out somewhere and taking care of it,” the statement said.
“It’s scary. But at the same time, I was very pleased that the U.S. law enforcement is protecting me,” Alinejad said, recounting her call with American security officials.
“The same person who was trying to kill President Trump was assigned to kill me as well. I mean, that’s a badge of honor,” she added.
In Tehran, Esmail Baghaei, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, rejected the report and called it a plot by Israel-linked circles to make Iran-U.S. relations more complicated, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Alinejad is a prominent figure on Farsi-language satellite channels abroad that critically view Iran, and she has worked as a contractor for U.S.-funded Voice of America’s Farsi-language network since 2015. She fled Iran following the country’s disputed 2009 presidential election and became a U.S. citizen in October 2019.
Alinejad accused the Iranian government of continuing to oppress women in Iran and make them wear the mandatory headscarf, or hijab, even two years after the death of Mahsa Amini that sparked weekslong mass protests.
The fact that the Iranian government has repeatedly tried to kill her, she said, "makes me more determined to give voice to powerful women inside Iran who are facing the same killers every single day.”
Masih Alinejad, 48, a prominent Iranian American human rights activist attends an interview with the Associated Press in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Masih Alinejad, 48, a prominent Iranian American human rights activist poses for a photo during an interview with the Associated Press in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Masih Alinejad, 48, a prominent Iranian American human rights activist attends an interview with the Associated Press in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Masih Alinejad, 48, a prominent Iranian American human rights activist attends an interview with the Associated Press in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Klay Thompson exited the team bus then beamed as he strolled back into Chase Center on Tuesday night, greeted by some 400 cheering Warriors employees who lined up along his path to the Dallas locker room to show their love and appreciation for the former Golden State star.
Once the ball was tipped a couple of hours later, Thompson tried to pull off an impromptu shimmy, Stephen Curry-style, as the former Splash Brothers dueled in different uniforms.
The employees who greeted Thompson sported “Captain Klay” hats, the giveaway for all fans on a celebratory night remembering his 13 years with the franchise and four championships he helped win.
“That was really cool,” Thompson said. “I'm very grateful for the employees to give me that kind of love ... totally unexpected and definitely put a smile on my face. Something I'll never forget.”
Those white hats filled Chase Center, where video highlights of Thompson showed in a place where he's still beloved — and always will be. Curry jogged up to Thompson, now wearing No. 31 with teammate Kyrie Irving in No. 11, and offered a quick embrace before Andrew Wiggins also hugged his old teammate.
Thompson scored 22 points on 7-for-17 shooting with six 3-pointers but watched Curry shine in the closing moments of Golden State's 120-117 victory. Thompson high-fived a fan afterward and tossed his white headband into the seats, giving some lucky patron an unexpected souvenir.
Earlier, after a brief jump-rope routine outside the Mavericks' locker room, Thompson ran out the tunnel and onto the floor to thunderous applause from Warriors fans with phones up to capture the moment of Thompson's return.
“It was a cool moment to feel the energy from the fans,” Thompson said. “Especially all the chatter that I heard, it was all positive.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry had considered addressing the crowd before tipoff but spoke with Thompson and they decided to each focus on the game, though Kerr knew it would be something when they had to defend each other.
Just 15 seconds into the game Curry fouled Thompson, who scored the initial two points of the contest on free throws. He missed his initial two field-goal attempts before knocking down a 3-pointer with 1:26 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Warriors invited all their employees to be part of the welcoming committee for Thompson, who joined Dallas in July on a three-year, $50 million contract. Thompson, 34, missed more than 2 1/2 years — the entire 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons — recovering from surgeries on his left knee and right Achilles tendon before making his comeback in January 2022.
“I think what he overcame is almost unprecedented,” Kerr said. “... The last couple of years after he came back he struggled reconciling all of that, losing those prime seasons. We all saw that, saw him struggle with it emotionally. We saw him fight to get his game back. He helped us win a championship, led the league in 3s two years ago, he did a lot of amazing things.
"We wished that this had gone forever, that Klay would have finished his career with us but circumstances always dictate these things. In the end I think he made the right choice. I think he needed a fresh start, I think he needed kind of a new set of surroundings and that was apparent last year. He was not happy and that was hard to see, because he deserves to be happy. At his core he's a very happy person.”
Thompson had tried to downplay the magnitude of being back in the Bay Area. But when the home crowd went crazy and tipped those captain hats when he was introduced, Thompson became visibly emotional and clearly touched by the tribute. He waved and saluted in several directions.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd called the Mavericks “lucky to get him."
“He’s a true pro. Comes to work, understands what it means to win,” Kidd said. "We can talk about his ability to shoot the ball, space and his gravity. We can run him around, he’s going to create space for others. So when you talk about the big picture that’s hard to find, and we didn’t have that, and it was much-needed.”
Golden State held a “Salute Captain Klay” ceremony before tipoff to pay tribute to Thompson’s contributions to the franchise and his tradition of boating across the bay to games. He will be back again in February in the Mavs' second trip to Chase Center.
For Kerr, this moment felt far different from Thompson's triumphant return nearly three years ago from the injuries and daunting grind of rehab that the veteran guard considered some of the most difficult days of his life.
“That was a welcome back, we knew there were a lot of good times ahead. In fact there was a championship six months later,” Kerr said. “This one is obviously more of a goodbye, the first time we will have seen him. ... It'll feel very strange but it will be a different vibe, more of a thank you and a goodbye and everything that you've meant to us."
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Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson, right, is defended by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson, left, loses the ball while driving to the basket against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson waves toward fans before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game between the Golden State Warriors and the Mavericks in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Fans cheer as Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson jogs onto the court to warm up before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson warms up before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, left, hugs Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson, middle, as guard Kyrie Irving, right, walks on the court before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson reacts toward fans before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game between the Golden State Warriors and the Mavericks in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., right, shoots over Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
FILE - Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) shoots against Utah Jazz forward's Darius Bazley (21) and Brice Sensabaugh (8) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, April 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn, File)
FILE - Golden State Warriors guards Klay Thompson, left, and Stephen Curry and forward Draymond Green, right, laugh while being interviewed, Nov. 30, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson, foreground left, is greeted by Golden State Warriors employees and media as he arrives before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game between the Warriors and the Mavericks in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson is greeted by Golden State Warriors employees and media as he arrives before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game between the Warriors and the Mavericks in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
