Two Men To Be Sentenced Over Knife Attack On Journalist In UK For Iran

LONDON, July 3 (PA Media/dpa) -- Two men found guilty of taking part in a "targeted" knife attack on a journalist "on behalf of the Iranian state" will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday.

Iran International journalist Pouria Zeraati was left bleeding in the street after he was attacked outside his home in Wimbledon, south-west London, on March 29, 2024.

Last month, Romanian nationals Nandito Badea, 21, and George Stana, 25, were both found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after a trial at Woolwich Crown Court.

Both men, who denied the charges, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey later today.

Zeraati was stabbed three times in the thigh in what prosecutors described as "a planned attack preceded by reconnaissance, and which was ordered by a third party acting on behalf of the Iranian state."

Badea wielded the knife while another man called David Andrei, who is still in Romania and was not on trial, was also part of the attack, according to the victim.

Stana waited in a blue Mazda 3 getaway car which was spotted on CCTV footage during "hostile reconnaissance" carried out before the attack, the trial heard.

Zeraati was a high-profile face of Iran International, a competitor of the state broadcaster which the Iranian regime designated as a terrorist organization and branded "a network of spies."

Jurors were told the attackers were seen laughing as they fled the scene, heading for Geneva, Switzerland.

They ordered a taxi using the Bolt app, initially setting the drop-off location as Tottenham, then adjusting it to Luton, and finally Heathrow Airport.

Kris Wright, chief superintendent in counter terrorism policing, said after the verdict in June called the stabbing an "attack on our democracy."

According to Wright, police have foiled 20 plots in the United Kingdom linked to Iran since 2022.

Zeraati had appeared, along with other journalists, on "Wanted: dead or alive" posters that were put up in the Iranian capital Tehran.

Badea said he had "no idea" Zeraati was a campaigning journalist, while Stana told the court "it was a big surprise" when the two men he drove away from the scene said there had been a stabbing.

Both men will be sentenced for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm at the Old Bailey on July 3.

--NNN-PA Media/dpa