On Friday, Hadi Matar, age 27, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the attempted murder of Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed multiple times during a lecture in New York.
Hadi Matar Sentenced to 25 Years for Attack on Salman Rushdie
Hadi Matar Sentenced to 25 Years for Attack on Salman Rushdie
A man who inflicted life-altering injuries on the celebrated author Salman Rushdie has received a significant prison sentence.
A New Jersey resident, Matar had been convicted earlier this year of attempted murder and assault for the brutal attack that occurred on August 12, 2022, while Rushdie was speaking at a Chautauqua event. The assault left Rushdie partially blind and severely injured, impacting his liver and paralyzing his hand due to nerve damage. The attack has been tied to the long-standing controversy surrounding Rushdie’s 1988 novel, The Satanic Verses, which has resulted in numerous death threats against the author since the issuing of a fatwa by Iran’s leadership.
Matar received the harshest possible sentence of 25 years for the attempted murder charge, in addition to a seven-year sentence for assaulting Henry Reese, who was also injured during the attack. Both sentences will run concurrently, as determined by Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt.
Before his sentencing, Matar stood in court and made a statement, targeting Rushdie’s freedom of expression. "Salman Rushdie wants to disrespect other people... I don't agree with that," Matar said while dressed in jail attire. Rushdie was absent from the courtroom during the sentencing session.
In the lead-up to the sentencing, Rushdie provided harrowing testimony about the moment of the attack during an intense two-week trial, describing the assailant's ferocious gaze as Matar approached him on stage. Rushdie explained how, at first, he believed he had been punched rather than stabbed, reporting that there had been 15 stab wounds, including to critical areas like his neck, chest, and face.
Matar’s defense claimed that the prosecutors had not definitively proven intent to kill. Matar himself did not testify during the trial, with no witnesses called by his legal team. Preceding the attack, he expressed disdain towards Rushdie in a New York media interview, acknowledging admiration for Ayatollah Khomeini, who had called for Rushdie’s execution decades earlier.
Although Rushdie faced perilous conditions for years after the publication of The Satanic Verses, he believed that threats towards him had lessened in more recent years. In an interview prior to the assault, he stated that his life felt relatively “normal” at that point. Following the attack, Rushdie shared his recovery journey in a memoir titled Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder.
In addition to his legal battles, Rushdie has begun taking steps back into the public sphere, announcing plans for appearances and new works following the period of recovery from the attack.
