Salman Rushdie attacked: Hadi Matar found guilty of attempted murder
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S Panda - . February 22, 2025
- . Update: February 22, 2025 5:40 pm
Hadi Matar stabbed and partially blinded Salman Rushdie on stage at an art institute’s event back in 2022. He stabbed Rushdie multiple times in the head, neck, torso and left hand, blinding his right eye and damaging his organs.
Matar, 27, has been found guilty of attempted murder. Jurors reached the verdict on Friday. Matar can be seen in clips of the attack rushing the Chautauqua Institution’s stage as Rushdie is being introduced to the audience.
Nathaniel Barone, a public defender representing Matar, said his client is disappointed. Rushdie, an atheist born into a Muslim Kashmiri family in India, has faced death threats since the 1988 publication of ‘The Satanic Verses’.
Matar also faces federal charges brought by prosecutors, accusing him of attempting to murder Rushdie as an act of terrorism and of bringing material support to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, according to media reports. He is due to face these charges at a separate trial.
