The trial of Hadi Matar, the man who stabbed famous British-Indian author Sir Salman Rushdie in 2022, began Monday in upstate New York. The attack that left Rushdie blind in one eye has received wide media attention.
Matar, 27, of New Jersey, has been indicted on charges of attempted murder and assault. He has pleaded not guilty. The attack happened at the Chautauqua Institute in New York State, where Mr. Rushdie was set to speak. A chilling video obtained by CNN appears to show the suspect rush the stage and stab both Rushdie and his interviewer.
Sir Salman, 77, received multiple stab wounds and had severe lacerations to the liver. Henry Reese, the interviewer, was hit on the head but received minor injuries, was treated and released. Rushdie was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he was operated upon and placed on a ventilator.
The trial, which is being held in Mayville, will be decided by a jury that will also hear testimony from Rushdie, among others. Many of those present at the lecture witnessed the attack, and accounts suggest that a doctor in the audience gave immediate first aid.
Rushdie has long lived with various death threats against his person ever since publishing a highly controversial novel called The Satanic Verses back in 1988. An outspoken outcry had swept up segments of some Muslim minorities-with an official Iranian call, the Fatwa-put by its leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, calling for the execution of the author. Despite believing the threats had diminished in recent years, the attack came as a shock to many, as Rushdie had recently expressed a sense of normalcy in his life.
Hadi Matar, of Fairview, New Jersey, was born to Lebanese immigrant parents. While authorities have not established a motive so far, Matar had uttered praise for Ayatollah Khomeini. He said that he had been inspired to go to the lecture after he had seen a tweet about Rushdie’s appearance.
In addition to the charges in Chautauqua County, Matar faces federal charges for allegedly providing material support to Hezbollah, a group considered a terrorist organization by various Western nations. He remains in custody and, if convicted, could face up to 32 years in prison.
The fatwa on Rushdie had been a highly sensitive issue; the author has faced several years of torment and violence ever since it was issued. Different Iranian media outlets hailed the attack as an attack on an apostate. A religious foundation in Iran, after several years, added to the bounty on Rushdie’s head despite strained relations between Iran and the UK due to the issuance of the fatwa.
Rushdie had stayed in the hospital for six weeks, and thereafter his recovery was extremely tough because he lost his vision and suffered nerve damage. Recently, he published a memoir titled Knife, reflecting on the attack and after-effects. As the trial progresses, Rushdie will take to the stand, exposing him to a mixture of emotions when confronting, for the first time, his alleged attacker in court.
