The man who nearly killed Salman Rushdie in a shocking 2022 knife attack was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison.
Salman Rushdie was attacked on August 12, 2022, ahead of a scheduled talk at the Chautauqua Institution. Hadi Matar, donning a face mask, went on stage and repeatedly stabbed Rushdie ahead of his talk.
He was found guilty in February of attempted murder and assault after stabbing the famed author over a dozen times onstage at a New York literary event. Rushdie, now 77, lost vision in one eye and suffered life-altering injuries.
Though Rushdie did not attend the sentencing, he submitted a statement describing the brutal attack. During the trial, he testified that he thought he was dying as Matar plunged a knife into his head and torso.
Before receiving the maximum sentence, Matar gave a defiant speech, calling Rushdie a hypocrite and accusing him of “bullying” others through his writing.
“This was a calculated, vicious assault,” said Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt, noting Matar had come armed and prepared to inflict maximum harm.
Matar also wounded another man on stage. While both victims were injured in the same attack, the sentences will run concurrently.
Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses and Midnight’s Children, chronicled his recovery in his memoir Knife, released earlier this year.
Matar, a U.S. citizen, still faces a federal terrorism trial. Prosecutors say he was inspired by a decades-old fatwa from Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini and believed he was carrying out orders supported by Hezbollah.
Shocking video played in court showed the moment Matar lunged at Rushdie from behind as the audience screamed. The jury took less than two hours to convict him.
