Hadi Matar, the man convicted of stabbing author Salman Rushdie on a New York lecture stage in 2022, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Friday. The 27-year-old was found guilty of attempted murder and assault by a jury in February. Rushdie, who was left blind in one eye from the attack, submitted a victim impact statement but did not appear in court for the sentencing.
During the trial, the 77-year-old author testified as the key witness, recalling how he felt he was dying when Matar, masked and armed with a knife, attacked him on stage at the Chautauqua Institution. Rushdie described being stabbed in the head and body more than a dozen times as he was being introduced to speak about writer safety.
Before being sentenced, Matar stood in court wearing white-striped jail clothing and handcuffs, accusing Rushdie of being a "bully" and a "hypocrite" over his stance on free speech. "Salman Rushdie wants to disrespect other people," Matar said. "He wants to be a bully, he wants to bully other people. I don't agree with that."
Sentencing and prosecution's stand
Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt, in his plea for the maximum sentence, argued that Matar had meticulously planned the attack to inflict maximum damage on Rushdie, the event's attendees, and the broader community. Matar received the maximum 25-year term for the attempted murder and an additional seven years for wounding a man on stage, though both sentences will run concurrently.
Defence's push for leniency
Matar's public defender, Nathaniel Barone, sought a reduced sentence, highlighting Matar's previously clean record and disputing the prosecution's claim that audience members should be considered victims.
Upcoming federal trial
Matar now faces a federal trial on terrorism-related charges, including providing material support to Hezbollah. Prosecutors say the attack was motivated by a decades-old fatwa issued by Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 over Rushdie's novel, "The Satanic Verses," which some Muslims consider blasphemous. Matar has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, which include providing material to terrorists and engaging in terrorism transcending national boundaries.
Rushdie's recovery
Rushdie, the author of acclaimed works like "Midnight's Children" and "Victory City," spent 17 days in a Pennsylvania hospital and over three weeks at a New York City rehabilitation centre following the attack. He detailed his recovery in his 2024 memoir, "Knife."
(Based on AP inputs)
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