Key facts
- Hadi Matar was convicted of federal terrorism charges for the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie.
- The jury found Matar guilty of engaging in an act of transnational terrorism.
- Matar is currently serving a 25-year sentence for attempted murder from a state conviction.
- Prosecutors presented evidence suggesting Matar acted out of loyalty to Iran and Hezbollah.
- The attack occurred because of perceived blasphemy in Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses."
Hadi Matar, 28, has been convicted of federal terrorism charges for the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie. A jury found Matar guilty of all charges, including engaging in an act of transnational terrorism, in a trial held in Buffalo, New York. Matar is already serving a 25-year New York state prison sentence for attempted murder related to the August 2022 attack, and the federal conviction carries a potential life sentence.
Prosecutors argued that Matar acted out of loyalty to Iran's theocratic government and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, seeking to fulfill a 1989 fatwa issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that called for Rushdie's death due to perceived blasphemy in his 1988 novel, "The Satanic Verses." Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch stated that Matar intended to "Fulfill the fatwa." The defense attorney, Nathaniel Barone, urged jurors to consider Matar's intent and state of mind.
The attack occurred on an amphitheater stage at the Chautauqua Institution, where Rushdie was scheduled to speak about writer safety. Rushdie was stabbed 15 times, sustaining severe injuries including the loss of sight in his right eye. Jurors were shown video evidence of the assault. Matar, who is a citizen of both the U.S. and Lebanon, had reportedly researched Rushdie's whereabouts for years prior to the attack. His mother stated he became withdrawn after a 2018 trip to Lebanon.