UK: Two Men Charged Over Targeted Knife Attack on Journalist Linked to Iran's Islamic Republic

George Stana and Nandito Badea mugshots | Jihad Watch

Two men hired as contract attackers by the Iranian regime have been sentenced to a combined 20 years in prison for the knife attack on television journalist Pouria Zeraati in south London.

Zeraati was stabbed three times in the leg in broad daylight outside his home on March 29, 2024, as he walked to his Tesla to drive to the television studio. Investigators said the attack highlighted Tehran's alleged use of criminal proxies to target critics on British soil.

According to prosecutors, the assailants were part of a team that had travelled from Romania and spent nearly a month conducting surveillance on Zeraati's residence in an affluent south London neighborhood near the Wimbledon tennis venue. Although employed in the construction industry, the men were said to have longstanding ties to organized crime and carried out the attack in exchange for money.

During the assault, 22-year-old David Andrei restrained Zeraati by grabbing him from behind, while 21-year-old Nandito Badea, a former professional footballer, stabbed the journalist. Badea was reportedly wearing a hooded sweatshirt bearing the word "gangster."

After the attack, the pair fled to a waiting blue Mazda 3TS hatchback driven by 25-year-old George Stana. The group later abandoned the vehicle in New Malden, discarded their clothing in a nearby bin, and used the Bolt ride-hailing app to travel to Heathrow Airport.

Sentencing the men at the Old Bailey, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said there was "overwhelming" evidence that the attack had been commissioned by Iran. She sentenced Stana to 12 years in prison, stating that he "knew or ought to have known" he was acting on behalf of the Iranian regime.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)