A man was convicted Wednesday of federal terrorism charges in the 2022 stabbing of , the author who has faced a over his novel 鈥淭he Satanic Verses.鈥�
After just a couple of hours of deliberations, a jury found Hadi Matar guilty of all the charges against him, including engaging in an act of transnational terrorism.
Rushdie, who was about to speak on writers鈥� safety, was slashed 15 times on an amphitheater stage in 2022. He was gravely wounded and lost the sight in his right eye.
Prosecutors asserted that Matar was motivated by the late Iranian Supreme Leader 鈥檚 1989 call for Rushdie鈥檚 death because of 鈥淭he Satanic Verses.鈥�
鈥淗is brutal attack on Mr. Rushdie during a peaceful speaking event is a chilling reminder of the global reach of Iranian terrorism,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said in a statement after the verdict, adding that 鈥渏ustice has been done.鈥� Iran鈥檚 government has in the attack.
Matar鈥檚 defense: No evidence of his state of mind
Messages seeking comment on the verdict were sent to Matar’s attorneys and Rushdie’s assistant. , defense lawyer Nathaniel Barone said the government had no proof of what was in Matar鈥檚 head.
Matar himself . Rushdie did, : 鈥淚 can鈥檛 say what his ambitions or his aim was, but the wounds were dispersed across my body.鈥�
Matar, 28, is already serving a 25-year New York state prison sentence on an attempted murder conviction in the stabbing. His federal sentencing is set for Nov. 3, when he faces a potential life term.
Rushdie won Britain鈥檚 prestigious Booker Prize for his 1981 novel 鈥淢idnight鈥檚 Children,鈥� about his native India. 鈥淭he Satanic Verses,鈥� a novel of magical realism about the lives and dreams of two actors who survive a plane explosion, followed in 1988.
It drew critical acclaim in the United Kingdom but engendered protests around the Muslim world over what some believers saw as blasphemous suggestions about Islam鈥檚 , particularly in a dream sequence. Over the ensuing years, at least 45 people were killed in riots over the book, a Japanese translator was stabbed to death, and an Italian translator and Norwegian publisher were attacked.
Rushdie, who was born into a Muslim family, has said the dream sequence was just that. But he went into hiding for years, gradually emerging after Iran鈥檚 government distanced itself in 1998 from Khomeini鈥檚 fatwa, or religious edict.
鈥淔or two decades or more, I led a public life without a hint of trouble,鈥� Rushdie testified at the trial in Buffalo, New York.
Yet the fatwa was never rescinded; indeed, Khomenei鈥檚 successor, the late , in effect. An Iranian foundation has for killing Rushdie.
Prosecutors: Matar鈥檚 messages showed him zeroing in on Rushdie
Matar broached the fatwa with contacts in messaging apps in 2021 and 2022, according to exhibits shown in court. The messages showed Matar fuming that he felt Rushdie had attacked Islam and, by surviving, emboldened others to insult the faith. Matar alluded to a 2006 comment along those lines by the late Hezbollah militant group leader the messages showed.
Born in the U.S., Matar also holds citizenship in Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based. Prosecutors said that photos in Matar鈥檚 New Jersey bedroom and on his computer indicated his support for Hezbollah, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization.
Matar 鈥渟pent months planning and preparing to carry out what he hoped would be the execution of Salman Rushdie,鈥� U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said in a statement Wednesday.
The messages showed Matar initially talked about wanting to 鈥渆xpose鈥� Rushdie, then about taking his life. In a private note to himself, he wrote: 鈥淲e need to kill him ASAP,鈥� Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch said in an opening statement on July 22. The prosecutor said Matar framed the planned killing as part of what he considered a jihad, or holy war.
By spring 2022, the electronic chats showed, Matar wrote that he had discerned where Rushdie lived and was tracking his public appearances, eventually pointing out his scheduled August 2022 talk at the Chautauqua Institution, a western New York arts and intellectual center.
As Rushdie was being introduced, his attacker climbed on stage behind him, then stabbed him as the audience gasped. Spectators and another speaker, Henry Reese, scrambled to aid Rushdie. Law enforcement officers, assigned to the event, arrested the attacker 鈥� soon identified as Matar 鈥� after civilians restrained him.
Rushdie published a 2024 , then returned to fiction with last year鈥檚 The author, who was knighted by Britain鈥檚 late Queen Elizabeth II, lifetime achievement award in November.
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Associated Press writer John Wawrow contributed from Buffalo, New York.
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