Two Romanians jailed for stabbing journalist on behalf of Iran regime

Two Romanians jailed for stabbing journalist on behalf of Iran regime Image source, ReutersImage caption, Nandito Badea and George Stana at a previous court appearanceByDaniel SandfordUK correspondent, Reporting fromOld BaileyPublished1 minute agoTwo Romanian nationals have been jailed for stabbing a journalist in Wimbledon on behalf of the Iranian regime in an attempt to "silence" him.Their target, Pouria Zeraati, works for the Persian language channel Iran International, that is critical of the Iranian government. Nandito Badea, 21, and George Stana, 25, attacked him in March 2024 as he walked to his car near his home, just around the corner from the All England Lawn Tennis Club. At the Old Bailey in London, Stana was sentenced to 12 years in prison and Badea to eight, after being convicted last month of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The knife attack left Zeraati in hospital needing stitches for three stab wounds in his leg. Stana drove the Mazda getaway car. Zeraati said Badea wielded the knife, while a third man, David Andrei, held him while he was being stabbed. Andrei is still in Romania.Sentencing Badea and Stana, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said "I am sure that this was an attack for - or for the benefit of - a foreign power.""The victim Pouria Zeraati was not selected at random.""He had previously been subject to threats," she said, and there had been posters put up in the Iranian capital Tehran with his photograph and the words "Wanted. Dead or alive". The judge concluded that Stana knew or should have known that the attack was being carried out on behalf of Iran, but said she was not sure that Badea knew.The court heard that the attack had been planned for "at least one year" with extensive surveillance of Zeraati's home in Wimbledon.In a victim impact statement read to the court, Zeraati said the attack had caused him "significant sleeplessness"."The incide...