ADVERTISEMENTThe man who was found guilty of stabbing Salman Rushdie in 2022, which left the renowned author blind in one eye, is going to be sentenced today.
A jury in February found Hadi Matar, 27, guilty of attempted murder and assault.
District Attorney Jason Schmidt of Chautauqua County plans to ask for the maximum of 25 years in prison for the August 12, 2022 knife attack on Rushdie, and an additional 7 years for the injury of a second man who was present on stage. He stated that the sentences must be served at the same time, as both victims were injured during the same incident.
Rushdie won’t be going back to court for his attacker’s sentencing, confirmed the prosecutor.
During the trial, Rushdie, a 77-year-old, was the main witness, testifying how he thought he was dying when an assailant wearing a mask stabbed him over a dozen times in the head and body during an event at the Chautauqua Institution where he was to speak about writer safety.
After spending 17 days in a Pennsylvania hospital and more than three weeks at a New York City rehabilitation center, Rushdie recounted his recovery in his 2024 memoir, “Knife.”
Next, Matar is to face a federal trial for terrorism-related charges.
The first trial chiefly dealt with the specifics of the stabbing, while the upcoming one will explore the motive behind the attack.
Federal prosecutors said that Matar, a US citizen, tried to carry out a fatwa, dating back to the 1980s, calling for Rushdie’s death, getting to the victim from his home in Fairview, New Jersey.
Matar believed that the fatwa was supported by the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah and their secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued the fatwa after the publication of Rushdie’s novel “The Satanic Verses,” which offended some Muslims.
Rushdie stayed in hiding for years but later traveled freely after Iran announced they would not enforce the fatwa anymore.
Matar pleaded not guilty to charges of providing material support to terrorists, attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah, and engaging in terrorism that goes beyond national boundaries.
ADVERTISEMENTEarlier this year, it was announced that Rushdie would be releasing a new book of fiction since the attempt on his life.
“The Eleventh Hour,” which consists of three novellas with a prologue and epilogue, will globally release on November 4th. It has been described by Penguin Random House as “an emotional, powerful collection of stories that take us around the world, from neighborhoods in Bombay to elite universities in England.”
In publishing the book, Penguin Random House also highlighted that the author explores deep questions we may all face one day, such as coping with entering the final stage of life and bidding farewell to the places we called home.
While Rushdie’s last novel, “Victory City,” was published in 2023, he had already finished it before the attempt on his life in 2022.