FILE-Hadi Matar sits at a table at the Chautauqua County Court House on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Joshua Bessex/Buffalo News via Getty Images)
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The man who stabbed author Salman Rushdie at a speaking event in 2022 was guilty of federal terrorism charges for the assault.
Hadi Matar, 28, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison when he is sentenced on his federal conviction set for Nov. 3., 2026. Matar is already serving a 25-year prison stint on state charges of attempted murder for the knife attack.
According to Reuters, prosecutors in the case stated the incident was provoked by death threats over Rushdie’s novel “The Satanic Verses.”’
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Matar was found guilty by a jury on all counts, including attempting to provide material support to Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, engaging in terrorism transcending national boundaries, and providing material support to terrorists.
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The jury’s verdict concluded a trial that started on July 21 and included testimony from Rushdie. Reuters noted that neither Matar nor any other witnesses were called to the stand to testify by the defense.
Salman Rushdie stabbing incident
Dig deeper:
Hadi Matar spent over a year researching the fatwa, a religious edict, before trying to fulfill the edict with an assault on Rushdie while the author was on stage speaking at the Chautauqua Institution in Mayville, New York, on Aug. 12, 2022.
According to Reuters, Rushdie was stabbed over a dozen times in the head, neck, torso and left hand. The attack resulted in Rushdie losing sight in his right eye and suffering damage to his internal organs. A second man was also wounded in the attack.
Matar was born in the United States, but also has Lebanese citizenship and lived in Fairview, New Jersey, and was found guilty of attempted murder in a New York state court in February 2025. He was sentenced three months later to 25 years in prison.
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