Two Romanians jailed over stabbing of Iranian TV journalist in London | Crime

Two Romanians who took part in a “targeted” knife attack on a television journalist in London “on behalf of the Iranian state” have been jailed.

Pouria Zeraati, who worked for Iran International, a Persian-language channel critical of the Tehran regime, was left bleeding on the street after being stabbed three times in front of her home in Wimbledon.

Nandito Badea, 21, and George Stana, 25, were found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Speaking at the Old Bailey on Friday, Judge Cheema-Grubb said “the overwhelming majority of the evidence points to the attack being carried out on behalf of the Iranian regime”.

Stana, who the judge said “should have known” that the “targeted and serious” attack was on behalf of Iran, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Badea was given eight years.

Cheema-Grubb said: “I am confident that this was an attack carried out for and for the benefit of a foreign power. Pouria Zeraati was a well-known critic of the regime and had previously been subject to threats, as had members of his family.”

Zeraati was stabbed three times in the hip on March 29, 2024, in what prosecutors described as “a planned attack before discovery, ordered by a third party acting on behalf of the Iranian state.”

Badea and another man named David Andrei, who is still in Romania and has not been tried, “crowded” the victim and one of them stabbed him multiple times in the thigh.

Stana was waiting in the Mazda getaway car seen on CCTV footage during “hostile reconnaissance” carried out before the attack.

In her victim impact statement to the Metropolitan police, Zeraati said the incident left her “frightened and concerned” and she was forced to move abroad “for fear of any retaliation”.

The prosecution said Badea and Andrei went to his property eight times over five dates and “clearly” flew into the country for the attack. They said they believed the stabbing was planned more than a year before it occurred.

The court heard that London-based Iran International was critical of the Iranian regime and was designated a terrorist organization by the state.

Zeraati was a prominent face on the channel, and his face was seen on a billboard in Iran’s capital bearing the message “Wanted: Dead or Alive”.

Jurors were told the attackers were seen laughing as they fled the scene and flew to Heathrow and Geneva.

Stana was described by his lawyer, Peter Caldwell KC, as “functionally illiterate” and “unaware of current events”, thus “unaware” that he was operating on behalf of Iran.

Caldwell added: “Mr. Stana was useful to others in terms of his intended behavior, but he did not know for what purpose he was being used.”

Badea’s lawyer, David Spens KC, argued that the court “could not be certain” that it was his client who stabbed Zeraati during the attack.

Ch Supt Kris Wright, head of protective security operations at London Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “Our latest case studies show that so-called ‘proxies’ are increasingly being used by hostile foreign states to carry out illegal activities and attacks in the UK.

“But this case and others show that we will not tolerate this and will work with our UK and international partners to identify those involved and bring them to justice.”

Badea and Stana did not admit their guilt.