Two Romanian nationals have been charged after an Iranian journalist was stabbed outside his London home earlier this year.
Iranian TV journalist Pouria Zeraati was stabbed in the leg in Wimbledon on March 29.
On Wednesday, Nandito Badea, 19, and George Stana, 23, were arrested in Romania and charged with wounding and battery with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
The two men have appeared in a Romanian court for the start of extradition proceedings to Britain, the CPS said.
A spokesperson for the CPS said on Thursday that “following a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service’s Counter Terrorism Command, we have approved charges against two Romanian nationals.”
“We continue to work closely with the Romanian authorities to ensure that our extradition request is processed through the courts,” the statement said. “The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all involved that criminal proceedings against the defendants are active and they are entitled to a fair trial.”
Mr Zeraati described the incident in April on the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme. He said that when he went to his car to go to the studio, a man approached him and pretended to ask for change.
When he said he didn’t have one and moved to unlock the car door, a second man came up to him and they grabbed him so he couldn’t move his hands, Mr Zeraati said.
The first person stabbed him in the leg, he said, and then they ran away. None of Mr Zeraati’s belongings were stolen in the attack, he said.
Police said at the time that the suspects traveled to Heathrow Airport with a third man shortly afterwards and left the UK.
Mr Zeraati was taken to hospital but returned to work a week after the attack. He told the BBC in April that although he was “feeling much better”, he was still recovering mentally.
