Salman Rushdie attacker convicted on federal terrorism charges

Hadi Matar was found guilty on federal terrorism charges Wednesday for the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie, who has long faced a death threat over his novel "The Satanic Verses."

A jury convicted Matar, 28, on all counts, including engaging in an act of transnational terrorism. He is currently serving a 25-year sentence in New York state prison for attempted murder related to the August 2022 attack. The federal conviction carries a potential life sentence.

Rushdie, who was preparing to discuss writers' safety at the time of the assault, was stabbed 15 times. He sustained severe injuries, including the loss of sight in his right eye, and significant damage to his left hand and liver. Rushdie considers his survival a "miracle."

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I can still read, but I do find that I use iPads in a way that I never used to. Because there's light, and because I can adjust the size of the type. So, I never, ever, read a book on an iPad, but now I do.

Prosecutors argued that Matar was motivated by a 1989 fatwa issued by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, calling for Rushdie's death due to "The Satanic Verses." Defense attorneys contended the government lacked proof of Matar's specific intent. Rushdie testified during the trial, stating, "I can't say what his ambitions or his aim was, but the wounds were dispersed across my body."

"The Satanic Verses," published in 1988, drew protests across the Muslim world, with some believers deeming it blasphemous. The book's publication led to violence over the years, including the killings of a Japanese translator and attacks on other individuals associated with the work. Rushdie, who went into hiding for years, has stated the controversial dream sequence in the novel was purely fictional. Despite Iran's government distancing itself from Khomeini's fatwa in 1998, the religious edict was never officially rescinded, with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei indicating in 2017 that it remained in effect.

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I can't say what his ambitions or his aim was, but the wounds were dispersed across my body.