Man convicted for trying to kill author Salman Rushdie

Rushdie, an Indian immigrant became an atheist after leaving India, has faced death threats since the 1988 publication of his novel “The Satanic Verses.” The book was blasphemous and provocative and Iran’s then-supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a Fatwa against him.

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Hadi Matar, 27 of New Jersey, was found guilty by a court in Mayville, New York, after a little less than two hours of deliberations.

On August 12, 2022, Matar ran onto the stage at the Chautauqua Institution, an arts foundation and stabbed Rushdie more than a dozen times with a six-inch blade.

The attack left the novelist blind in one eye and received injuries to his head, neck, torso and left hand. His liver and intestines were also damaged, which required emergency surgery and months of recovery.

After the assault, Matar told the New York Post that he had traveled from his home in New Jersey after seeing the Rushdie event advertised because he disliked the novelist, saying Rushdie had attacked Islam.

Man convicted for trying to kill author Salman Rushdie

Matar, a dual citizen of his native United States and Lebanon, said in the interview that he was surprised Rushdie had survived.

As well as being found guilty of attempted murder in the second degree, Matar was also convicted of assault in the second degree.

The second conviction was ordered for the stabbing of Henry Reese, the co-founder of a non-profit group that helps exiled writers, who conducted the talk with Rushdie that morning.

Matar did not testify at his trial. His defense lawyers argued that prosecutors had not proved beyond reasonable doubt the necessary criminal intent needed for a conviction of attempted murder.

Rushdie was the key witness during seven days of testimony, describing in graphic detail his life-threatening injuries and long and painful recovery.

Rushdie had told jurors that he was left “screaming because of the pain” and it later “occurred to me I was dying” before he was helicoptered to a trauma hospital.

Defendant faces up to 25 years behind bars

During his sentencing hearing on April 23, Matar could now receive up to 25 years in prison.

He also faces federal charges at a separate trial in Buffalo brought by prosecutors in western New York, accusing him of attempting to murder Rushdie as an act of terrorism.

Prosecutors allege that Matar provided material support to the armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, which the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization.