Hadi Matar, the man who attacked author Salman Rushdie in 2022, was found guilty of federal terrorism charges on Wednesday (July 29) in a New York court. Matar, 28, had previously been sentenced to 25 years in state prison for attempted murder. The federal charges could now result in a life sentence.
The attack occurred at the Chautauqua Institution, where Rushdie was scheduled to speak. Matar rushed the stage and stabbed Rushdie 15 times, leaving the author blind in his right eye. Prosecutors argued that Matar was motivated by the 1989 fatwa issued by the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which called for Rushdie’s death due to his novel ‘The Satanic Verses’. Matar was also found to have connections to Hezbollah, a group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S.
During the trial, Rushdie testified about the attack, describing how he felt blood pouring from his neck and how the knife came “a millimeter from my brain.” Matar’s defense argued that there was no concrete evidence of his intent or mindset during the attack. However, prosecutors presented evidence of Matar’s communications and writings that indicated his intent to fulfill the fatwa and his allegiance to Hezbollah.
Matar, who declined to testify, was born in the U.S. but also holds Lebanese citizenship. He had expressed support for Hezbollah and was found to have researched Rushdie’s whereabouts prior to the attack. The jury deliberated for two hours before reaching their verdict.
Rushdie, a Booker Prize-winning author, has faced threats since the publication of ‘The Satanic Verses’ in 1988. Despite the Iranian government’s distancing from the fatwa in 1998, it has never been officially rescinded. Rushdie has continued to write, releasing a memoir about the attack and a recent collection of short stories.
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