Salman Rushdie Testifies At Knife Attacker's US Terror Trial
Author Salman Rushdie testified in a federal court regarding the 2022 stabbing attack that left him blind in one eye. The defendant, Hadi Matar, faces terrorism charges for the assault, which prosecutors link to a 1989 fatwa issued against Rushdie.
Why it matters
The trial highlights ongoing tensions regarding free speech, religious extremism, and the long-term safety of public figures targeted by international fatwas.
Novelist Salman Rushdie on Thursday testified at the federal trial of the man who tried to kill him with a knife at a New York cultural center in 2022.Hadi Matar, a 28-year-old Lebanese-American, was sentenced last year to 25 years in prison by New York state's justice system for the attempted murder, which left Rushdie blind in one eye. He is now standing trial on terrorism charges before a federal court in Buffalo, in northwestern New York.Prosecutors allege that Matar was motivated by a fatwa that Ayatollah Khomeini, then leader of Iran, issued in 1989 following Rushdie's depiction of a fictionalized Prophet Muhammad in his novel "The Satanic Verses."They also accuse Matar of supporting Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian Lebanese movement that the United States considers a terrorist group, as investigators found materials from the organization at his home.Asked Thursday if he…
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