Man convicted in terrorism trial over the 2022 stabbing of author Salman…

Hadi Matar found guilty of federal terrorism charges over the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie

A man was convicted Wednesday of federal terrorism charges in the 2022 stabbing of Salman Rushdie, the author who has faced a decades-old death threat over his novel "The Satanic Verses." After just a couple of hours of deliberations, a jury found Hadi Matar guilty of all the charges against him, including engaging in an act of transnational terrorism.

Rushdie, who was about to speak on writers' safety, was slashed 15 times on an amphitheater stage at the Chautauqua Institution in 2022. He was gravely wounded and lost the sight in his right eye. Spectators and another speaker, Henry Reese, scrambled to aid Rushdie, and law enforcement officers assigned to the event arrested the attacker after civilians restrained him.

Prosecutors asserted that Matar was motivated by the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's 1989 call for Rushdie's death because of "The Satanic Verses." Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said in a statement after the verdict that the attack was a chilling reminder of the global reach of Iranian terrorism, adding that justice had been done. Iran's government has denied involvement in the attack.

Federal prosecutors detail months of planning and digital surveillance

According to exhibits shown in court, Matar broached the fatwa with contacts in messaging apps in 2021 and 2022. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch said in an opening statement on July 22 that the messages showed Matar fuming that he felt Rushdie had attacked Islam and, by surviving, emboldened others to insult the faith, alluding to a 2006 comment by the late Hezbollah militant group leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Prosecutors said that photos in Matar's New Jersey bedroom and on his computer indicated his support for Hezbollah, which the U.S. Has designated a terrorist organization and is based in Lebanon, where Matar—who was born in the U.S.—also holds citizenship. U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo stated that Matar spent months planning and preparing to carry out what he hoped would be the execution of Salman Rushdie. The electronic chats showed that Matar initially talked about wanting to expose Rushdie, then about taking his life, writing in a private note to himself that they needed to kill him as soon as possible and framing the planned killing as part of a jihad, or holy war. By spring 2022, the chats showed Matar had discerned where Rushdie lived and was tracking his public appearances, eventually pointing out his scheduled August 2022 talk at the Chautauqua Institution.

Legal defense and courtroom testimony from the author

During the trial, defense lawyer Nathaniel Barone said the government had no proof of what was in Matar's head, and Matar himself declined to testify. Salman Rushdie took the stand, telling jurors:

"I can't say what his ambitions or his aim was, but the wounds were dispersed across my body."

Salman Rushdie

Rushdie testified that for two decades or more, he led a public life without a hint of trouble after Iran's government distanced itself in 1998 from Khomeini's fatwa. However, the fatwa was never rescinded; Khomeini's successor, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, indicated in 2017 that it remained in effect, and an Iranian foundation has offered a more than $3 million bounty for killing Rushdie.

Matar, 28, is already serving a 25-year New York state prison sentence on an attempted murder conviction in the stabbing. His federal sentencing is set for Nov. 3, when he faces a potential life term.