Man who stabbed author Salman Rushdie convicted of ‘terrorism’ charges

A federal jury in New York found Hadi Matar guilty of terrorism-related charges stemming from his 2022 knife attack on novelist Salman Rushdie. Matar, age 28, is currently incarcerated under a 25-year prison sentence imposed in May of the previous year for the attempted murder. The jury deliberated for two hours before returning guilty verdicts on all charges, including allegations of attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed organization designated as a terrorist entity by the United States.

The 2022 assault occurred during a public speaking engagement in New York and resulted in Rushdie suffering partial blindness. Prosecutors presented evidence suggesting Matar's actions were motivated by a 1989 fatwa issued by Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for Rushdie's death. Court documents indicated that Matar had discussed the fatwa angrily on messaging applications during 2021 and 2022. When Rushdie testified during the federal trial, he stated he had no direct knowledge of Matar's motivations but harboured suspicions regarding the fatwa's influence.

Rushdie, a British-American novelist born in India to a Muslim family, achieved literary prominence through works including Midnight's Children, which won the Booker Prize. His 1988 novel The Satanic Verses generated significant controversy due to passages perceived as blasphemous by Muslim readers, prompting Khomeini's subsequent fatwa. Following the attack, Rushdie authored a memoir titled Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, channelling his experiences from the assault. The Assistant Attorney General for National Security characterized the conviction as demonstrating the global reach of Iranian terrorism and affirmed that justice had been served.