Romanian men convicted for knife attack on journalist

Two Romanian nationals have been found guilty of a targeted knife attack on a journalist outside his London home, an assault prosecutors linked to the Iranian state. Nandito Badea, 21, and George Stana, 25, were convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday for the March 29, 2024, stabbing of Pouria Zeraati.

Zeraati, a presenter for the Persian-language broadcaster Iran International, was stabbed three times in the leg as he walked to his car on Queensmere Road in Wimbledon. He required emergency hospital treatment but returned to work the following month. The prosecution described the attack as a deliberate and planned act of violence, preceded by extensive surveillance and ordered by a third party on behalf of Iran.

The court heard that Badea, a former professional footballer, and another man, David Andrei, approached Zeraati. Badea asked for change before producing a knife and stabbing the journalist while Andrei restrained him. Stana waited nearby in a blue Mazda 3 hatchback, which was used as a getaway car. Following the attack, the assailants were seen laughing as they fled. They abandoned the vehicle in New Malden,...