Two Romanians facing extradition back to UK over Wimbledon stabbing

Two men wanted in connection with an investigation into the stabbing of a journalist in Wimbledon on March 29 have been arrested and detained by Romanian authorities.

The victim, Pouria Zeraati, who hosts a show on the Persian language network Iran International, was attacked at around 3pm on that Friday afternoon in Queensmere Road, receiving a stab wound to his leg as he left his house.

The investigation into the incident has been ongoing since March, led by detectives from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.

The arrests were made in Romania by Romanian authorities yesterday, and have come about after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised charges against the two Romanian nationals.

The CPS have authorised charges against both Nandito Badea, 19 and George Stana, 23, of wounding and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm

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.”

Picture: Wikimedia Commons/Colin McLaughlin Wiki page HERE