Prosecutors say the men helped direct a murder-for-hire scheme aimed at Masih Alinejad. The trial is expected to show Iran’s efforts to punish those who criticize it, no matter where they are.

The trial of two men charged in an alleged Iranian government-sponsored murder-for-hire plot that targeted a prominent Iranian journalist and human rights activist has begun with jury selection.

More than two years have passed since police stopped a man who was loitering outside the New York home of Iranian dissident and journalist Masih Alinejad. Inside his car, they found an assault rifle with an obliterated serial number, 66 rounds of ammunition and a ski mask.