London Trial Says 2024 Zeraati Stabbing Was Ordered by Iran-Backed Third Party
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 18
London Trial Says 2024 Zeraati Stabbing Was Ordered by Iran-Backed Third Party
11 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 18
Prosecutors told a London court the 2024 stabbing of journalist Pouria Zeraati was a deliberate operation ordered by a third party acting on behalf of the Iranian state, not a robbery or random assault.
Three stab wounds to Zeraati’s leg were allegedly inflicted after reconnaissance outside his west London home; prosecutors said David Andrei held him while Nandito Badea attacked and a waiting car helped the group flee.
George Stana, 25, and Badea, 21, both from Romania, deny wounding charges; Andrei was arrested in Romania but is not part of the current trial.
Iran International’s opposition coverage and Saudi backing had made Zeraati a visible target, the court heard, citing 2022 Tehran posters naming journalists including him as "wanted: dead or alive."
The case fits what prosecutors described as Iran’s growing use of proxies and criminal gangs since 2005 to intimidate targets abroad, amid rising threats that pushed Iran International to move from London to the US.
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Iran’s Transnational Repression in the UK: The Pouria Zeraati Case and the Rising Threat to Press Freedom
Overview
On March 29, 2024, British-Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati was violently attacked and stabbed four times outside his home in Wimbledon, London. British investigators believe the plot was orchestrated by Iran, which allegedly hired criminals from Eastern Europe to carry out the assault. These hired individuals faced few obstacles, easily cleared security checks at Heathrow Airport, tracked Zeraati for days, and quickly left the UK after the attack. Police identified two suspects who departed the country soon after. Investigators suggest the attack was meant as a warning, highlighting the growing threat of state-sponsored violence against Iranian journalists abroad.