Hadi Matar, the man who stabbed India-born British and American novelist Salman Rushdie, causing him to lose an eye, has been convicted of attempted murder by a jury in New York. Hadi Matar now faces up to 32 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.
Rushdie suffered three stab wounds to his neck, four to his stomach, puncture wounds to his right eye and chest, and a cut on his right thigh in the attack.
The jurors in the court in Mayville, New York, deliberated for less than 2 hours before coming up with a guilty verdict.
Notably, late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini had issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie for his 1988 novel ‘The Satanic Verses’. Hadi Matar, however, refused to confirm or deny that he attacked Rusdhie because of the fatwa.
