Two Romanian men have been charged after an Iranian TV journalist was stabbed outside his home in Wimbledon.
Nandito Badea, 19, and George Stana, 23, were arrested in Romania on Wednesday following the alleged knifing earlier this year.
They have been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and wounding after reporter Pouria Zeraati was stabbed in the leg outside his west London home on March 29.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it authorised the charges against the pair following a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service’s Counter Terrorism Command.
‘The charges relate to an attack on a journalist in Wimbledon on the afternoon of Friday, March 29, 2024. They have both now appeared in a Romanian court for the start of extradition proceedings,’ a CPS spokesman said.
‘We continue to work closely with Romanian authorities, to ensure that our extradition request is progressed through the courts.’
Mr Badea was allegedly targeted by a two-man team who escaped the scene in Wimbledon in a waiting car, counter terror police investigating the attack previously said.
The prominent dissident journalist, who works for the Iran International TV channel, has been repeatedly targeted by Tehran as the media organisation is openly critical of the government’s regime.
Journalist Pouria Zeraati was rushed to hospital after being stabbed in the leg outside his Wimbledon home back in March. He is seen posing in his hospital bed following the knife attack
Police have now arrested two Romanian men for the stabbing, the Crown Prosecution Service said. Mr Zeraati is pictured
Following the attack, the 36-year-old reporter was rushed to hospital where he later shared a picture on Instagram, smiling and holding up a peace sign. He has since been released from the hospital.
A neighbour who was walking in the street where the attack took place, and witnessed the aftermath, told the Evening Standard they saw the alleged assailants flee the scene.
He said: ‘It’s a very quiet suburban road and we saw two young men sprinting towards us, about 20 yards away and then got into a car. They sped off.
‘It felt odd. The two men were laughing, quite clearly laughing. I looked two of them in the eye – they were no more than a cricket pitch length away from me.’
He added: ‘We tried to give first aid and take his jeans off. He had been stabbed, I think four times. He had his jeans on and he had a pool of blood on his leg. It was awful to see.’
The unnamed neighbour, who does not know Mr Zeraati personally, went on to say that the stabbing was ‘really out of character for the area’.
In December, it was revealed that Iranian officials plotted to kill two of Zeraati’s colleagues, Sima Sabet and Fardad Farahzad.
Ex-BBC journalist Ms Sabet said that following the attack on Mr Zeraati, police warned her to leave her home.
Pouria Zeraati, right, works for the Iran International TV channel which is opposed to the Tehran regime
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Acting Commander Helen Flanagan, from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said: ‘We have been investigating this incident and gathering as much evidence as possible to reach the point where the CPS were able to authorise charges.
‘This work has led to the arrest and detention of two men in Romania and I’d like to thank our Romanian counterparts for their cooperation on this matter.
‘We now await the extradition process to progress so that the men can face prosecution here in the UK.
‘In the meantime we won’t be commenting further on the investigation and would urge others not to speculate about the case, given criminal proceedings are now pending.’
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