The man who stabbed author Salman Rushdie in the eye on stage in 2022 is standing trial for a second time, now facing federal terrorism charges after a state conviction for attempted murder last year. Hadi Matar's federal trial begins Wednesday in Buffalo, New York, about 70 miles from the venue where Rushdie was scheduled to speak in August 2022 when he was attacked.
Background of the case
Matar, 28, was convicted in May 2024 of attempted murder and assault at the state level and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He now faces federal charges including providing material support to terrorists and committing an act of transnational terrorism. If convicted on all counts, he could receive a life sentence. Matar denies the charges.
Rushdie, 79, survived the attack but lost the use of one eye and suffered lasting nerve damage. The Booker Prize-winning author is expected to testify again, having already given evidence at Matar's state trial. The federal trial is expected to last approximately two weeks.
Central allegations
Prosecutors argue that Matar was acting on the 1989 fatwa issued by former Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which called for Rushdie's death over his novel The Satanic Verses, deemed blasphemous by some Muslims. They also allege Matar acted in service of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia in Lebanon.
Investigators say Matar's electronic devices and a personal journal contained detailed research on how to carry out the attack. According to court documents, a note weighed acting swiftly because Rushdie could die 'any day now,' concluding 'So NOW or NEVER!!!' Photographs of Khomeini and his successor, Ali Khamenei, were reportedly found in Matar's New Jersey bedroom.
Pre-attack activities
Prosecutors allege Matar produced and circulated propaganda videos in the months before the attack, incorporating a 2006 speech by then-Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah condemning cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. Court filings further claim Matar corresponded with an Iran-based contact who said he knew 'where to find Rushdie' and asked whether the fatwa remained active.
Matar, a US-Lebanese dual citizen born in California, reportedly became withdrawn after visiting his father in Lebanon in 2018, according to relatives.
Rushdie's background
Rushdie was born in India and moved to Britain at age 14. He won the Booker Prize in 1981 for Midnight's Children, but The Satanic Verses made him a target of threats. Iran has denied involvement in the 2022 attack, though the fatwa was never formally withdrawn. In 2024, Rushdie published Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, a memoir about the attack.
