Attackers laughed and smiled after stabbing Iranian journalist, court hears

Two Romanian nationals who attacked a British-based Iranian journalist on a suburban street were “smiling” and “laughing” after stabbing him, a court has heard.

Pouria Zeraati was left bleeding in the street after he was attacked by proxies of the Iranian regime in Wimbledon, south-west London, on March 29 2024, prosecutors told Woolwich Crown Court.

Romanian nationals Nandito Badea, 21, and George Stana, 25, have both pleaded not guilty to charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and wounding.

Prosecutors allege they carried out “a planned attack preceded by reconnaissance, and which was ordered by a third party acting on behalf of the Iranian state”.

Mr Zeraati worked for Iran International, a competitor to the state broadcaster, which the Iranian regime branded “a network of spies”.

The court heard that the journalist was attacked by two men as he walked to his car on Queensmere Road, Wimbledon, and was stabbed in the thigh.

It is alleged the defendants acted as a team to carry out the attack with another man – named as David Andrei, who is not a defendant in the trial – with Stana acting as the getaway driver.

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Eyewitness Jack Upton told jurors on Wednesday that he saw “two figures in black tracksuits seeming to be sprinting quite fast towards us” who then “jumped into a car”.

Mr Upton, who saw the alleged attackers as he got off a bus with a friend, said the pair were “smiling”.

Giving evidence in court, Mr Upton said: “They seemed to be quite relaxed, even jovial. Almost as if they were laughing amongst themselves.”

Mr Upton then went to where Mr Zeraati was, telling jurors: “I saw a pool of blood and blood trickling down onto his trainers.

“He said quite loudly: ‘I’ve been stabbed, I’ve been stabbed.’

“He told us he was a journalist and had had threats before.”

Mr Upton’s friend, Michael Row, who also saw the alleged attackers sprinting to a car, told jurors that “one of them was laughing”.

Mr Row added: “The car immediately sped off – I’m not even sure one of the doors was closed as the car started moving.”

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Speaking about seeing Mr Zeraati, Mr Row said: “I could see blood pooling at the bottom of his leg on the floor and him holding his side.”

Eyewitness James Willis said he heard “the sound of laughing” from the two men running off, telling jurors it “looked like a couple of guys that had done something and found it funny”.

In a witness statement taken the day after the alleged attack, Mr Zeraati’s wife, Oldouz Rezvani, said she received a phone call telling her of the alleged attack.

In the statement, which was read to jurors by the prosecution, Ms Rezvani said: “I was crying as the whole thing was such a shock and I was very concerned for my husband.

“I could see the blood in the street.

“I went with my husband in the ambulance to hospital.”

In a witness statement read to court, Elsa Izac said she had seen “two men acting very suspiciously” on the street before the alleged attack, adding they were “acting as if they were spying on someone on Queensmere Road”.

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Jurors were told the defendants headed to Heathrow Airport on the day of the alleged attack and fled to Geneva in Switzerland.

The court heard they ordered a taxi using the app Bolt, initially setting the drop-off location as Tottenham, then adjusting it to Luton, and finally Heathrow Airport.

Asked about the customers in his vehicle, Bolt taxi driver Syed Hussain told jurors: “They said they had some family issues and had to go abroad.

“They seemed a bit agitated and on edge.”

Iran International was based in Chiswick until February 2023 when threats made against the network, its employees and their families led it to relocate temporarily to Washington DC.