Every time a thwarted plan for retribution fizzles, another may appear

March 7, 2025 12:23 PM

In reality, their operation came off like bad fan fiction, albeit with some seriously close calls for me and my family — and, as it turns out, some scary moments for random bystanders who were misidentified as being linked to me. from “Let’s hire an ISIS suicide bomber to blow him up in the street!”: Europe’s most wanted man plotted my murder — and that of my colleague [The Insider]
posted by chavenet (7 comments total)

Well, that’s terrifying.
posted by clew at 1:27 PM on March 7 [1 favorite]

Amazing article. Holy fucking shit.
posted by medusa at 1:38 PM on March 7 [2 favorites]

Ha, I missed this post entirely. I heard about it here:

‘The dumbest thing I’ve ever done’: spy trial’s tales of scheming, bluster and a love triangle (The Guardian)
“Who are Interpol to you?” one of the interrogating officers asked, deadpan. In reply, an embarrassed-sounding Ivanchev didn’t have much to say, offering: “From the movies,” and: “Just, uh, chasing criminals,” before he acknowledged his involvement, “right now the dumbest thing I have ever done in my life”.
posted by Acey at 4:43 PM on March 7 [2 favorites]

"Next to us on the plane, missed our pin by one digit" "Putin ordered this after we got our hands on hot intel" "The bad guys were doofuses and bad, lmao" "Look at how bad they are via their internal comms"

Sorry, how the fuck did any of this get into the hands of people that aren't working with Caregivers International Associated?
posted by Slackermagee at 8:36 PM on March 7 [2 favorites]

Because, per TFA, the material was obtained by the British security services and submitted as evidence in the trial of the suspects, in London. Sometimes things happen outside the USA, after all.
posted by prismatic7 at 10:24 PM on March 7 [7 favorites]

Sometimes things happen outside the USA, after all.

Don't tell Trump that, he might forget we exist if nobody mentions us for a few days.
posted by Absolutely No You-Know-What at 2:50 AM on March 8 [3 favorites]

wow. what a read! I mean, its a well-written article, but also, what a story! of course you help your friend illegally cross a border through the forest and then you go hiking in the Carpathians!

I mean, if it weren't for the absolutely terrible things these idiots considered doing, it would be side-splittingly funny. I think it could make a pretty entertaining movie.

It's good to know that the cleansing rays of sunlight that these brave journalists shine are pissing off the totalitarian leaders they are exposing. and it's great to know that these amazing people are out there, doing this work at the risk of gruesome assassination attempts, to keep us informed about the dirty doings of Putin et al.
posted by supermedusa at 8:35 AM on March 8 [3 favorites]