Nandito Badea, 21, and George Stana, 25, were sentenced by London’s Old Bailey to eight and 12 years in prison respectively. They were convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after journalist Pouria Zeraati was stabbed near his Wimbledon home in March 2024. The judge said the attack was carried out “for and on behalf of a foreign power”. A third suspect, David Andrei, is being tried in Romania.

(Staff: United Kingdom & Romania / Justice & Crime)

On Friday, 3 July 2026, the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) in London sentenced two Romanian nationals over the violent attack on Pouria Zeraati, a presenter for Persian-language broadcaster Iran International. Nandito Badea, 21, received eight years in prison and George Stana, 25, received 12 years for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The March 2024 attack

The attack took place on 29 March 2024 near Zeraati’s home in Wimbledon, south-west London. He was stabbed three times in the thigh as he crossed the street from his home towards his car. Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson told the court that the men had carried out extensive reconnaissance beforehand. Badea stabbed Zeraati, while a third man, David Andrei, restrained him. Stana waited in a blue Mazda 3, which was captured on CCTV.

Flight and extradition

After the attack, the men fled the scene and left the United Kingdom on a flight from Heathrow Airport. They were arrested in Romania in December 2024 and extradited to Britain. Both denied the charges during the trial. Badea said he had “no idea” Zeraati was a journalist, while Stana claimed he was “very surprised” when the men he collected by car told him a stabbing had taken place.

The judge’s finding: “for the benefit of a foreign power”

At sentencing, Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said the evidence overwhelmingly indicated that the attack was carried out on behalf of the Iranian government. “I am satisfied that this was an attack carried out for and on behalf of a foreign power,” she said. She noted that Zeraati was a well-known critic of the regime and had previously faced threats, as had members of his family. The judge said Stana should have known the targeted and serious attack was being carried out on behalf of Iran, and imposed the longer sentence on him.

Reaction from British authorities

British Security Minister Angela Eagle described the attack as “abhorrent” and said it had been carried out on behalf of Iran before the men fled the country. She said the sentences sent a clear message that anyone acting for a foreign state to commit crimes in the UK would be identified, prosecuted and punished, adding that Britain takes the Iranian threat extremely seriously. London counter-terrorism police chief Kris Wright said the case showed that people recruited by foreign states for such operations would be caught and brought to justice.

Impact on the victim

Zeraati received emergency treatment and returned to work the following month, saying that “the show must go on”. In his victim impact statement, he said the attack had left him “scared and anxious” and that he had moved abroad because he feared possible reprisals.

The wider context

Iran International, based in a heavily secured building in west London, was designated a “terrorist organisation” by Tehran in 2022, alongside the BBC’s Persian service. British security services say Iran is behind a growing number of plots in the UK in which criminal intermediaries target opposition media and the Jewish community. MI5 chief Ken McCallum said in October 2025 that more than 20 potentially lethal plots backed by Iran had been disrupted in the previous 12 months.

Conclusion

The sentences mark the conclusion of the UK proceedings against the two Romanian defendants. The judge’s findings linked the attack to the interests of a foreign power; Iran denies involvement. The case has also highlighted the security challenges faced by opposition media operating in exile and the use of criminal intermediaries in alleged foreign-directed operations.