Two Romans who allegedly stabbed the journalist on behalf of the Iranian government were arrested

Two Romanians are in jail after allegedly stabbing a journalist on behalf of the Iranian government to “silence” them at Wimbledon.

Their target, Puriya Zerati, works for Iran International, a Persian-language website critical of the Iranian government.

Nandito Badea, 21, and George Stana, 25, attacked him as he walked to his car near his home in March 2024 on the corner of the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

At London’s Old Bailey, Stana was convicted last month of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and sentenced to 12 years in prison and Badea to eight.

The stabbing left Zerati in hospital and required stitches for three stab wounds to his leg.

Stana drives a Mazda SUV. Zerati Badea said he used the knife when a third man, David Andrey, grabbed him when he was stabbed. Andre is still in Romania.

Sentencing Badeya and Stana, Ms Justice Chema-Grub said: “I am convinced that this attack was for – or for the benefit of – a foreign power.”

“The victim Pouria Zeraati was not chosen at random.”

“He had been threatened before,” she said, in the Iranian capital, Tehran, where his photo and “Wanted. Dead or Alive” posters were posted.

The judge concluded that Stana knew or should have known that the attack was carried out on behalf of Iran, but that she was not sure Badea knew.

The court heard the attack had been planned for “at least a year” and Zerratti’s home in Wimbledon was heavily monitored.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Zerati said the attack had caused him “extreme sleeplessness”.

“The incident left me worried and worried,” he said.

He explained that he had to move addresses several times and was afraid to go out on his own.

“It’s hard for me to go to restaurants for fear of being followed,” he said. “I’m always looking over my shoulder.”

Lawyers for both men said they did not know they were working for Iran when they carried out the attack.

Stana’s lawyer, Peter Caldwell Casey, “didn’t know him and couldn’t have known him. He’s not a sophisticated person, he’s a practical illiterate. He doesn’t know about current affairs.”

For Badea, David Spens KC “I do not dispute that the prosecution has established that the attack was carried out on behalf of a foreign power.”

However, “there is no evidence to suggest that Mr. Badea had knowledge of those matters,” he said.