Two Romanian nationals have been jailed for a “targeted” knife attack on a television journalist outside his Wimbledon home – a stabbing a judge ruled was carried out for the benefit of the Iranian state.
Nandito Badea, 21, and George Stana, 25, were convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after the attack on Pouria Zeraati in March 2024. At the Old Bailey on Friday, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb sentenced Stana to 12 years in prison and Badea to eight.
“Two Romanians jailed for stabbing Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati in London on behalf of Iran regime.”
“I am sure that this was an attack carried out for and for the benefit of a foreign power,” the judge said. “Pouria Zeraati was a well-known critic of the regime and he had previously been subjected to threats, as had members of his family.”
Zeraati, a presenter for the Persian-language channel Iran International, which is critical of the Tehran government, was stabbed three times in the thigh as he walked to his car near his home, just around the corner from the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The attack left him in hospital needing stitches.
Prosecutors described it as “a planned attack preceded by reconnaissance, and which was ordered by a third party acting on behalf of the Iranian state”. The court heard Badea wielded the knife, while a third man, David Andrei, held the victim as he was stabbed. Andrei is still in Romania and was not on trial. Stana drove the blue Mazda getaway car, which had been spotted on CCTV during “hostile reconnaissance” before the attack.
The men then fled the UK on a flight from Heathrow to Geneva. They were later extradited to face justice.
The judge said Stana “ought to have known” the attack was on behalf of Iran, but was not sure Badea knew. The planning had taken “at least one year”, with extensive surveillance of Zeraati’s home. Posters had appeared in the Iranian capital Tehran bearing his photograph and the words “Wanted. Dead or alive”.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Zeraati described “significant sleeplessness” and said: “The incident has left me scared and anxious. I am always looking over my shoulder.” He has had to move address several times and relocated abroad “for fear of any reprisals”.
Iran International said the attack “was appalling – terrifying for him and his wife, and shocking to his colleagues”. The broadcaster added: “Our journalists are subject to an ongoing campaign of intimidation by the Islamic Republic of Iran – both in Iran itself where their relatives are routinely threatened and treated harshly as well as to themselves on British soil.”