Man who attacked writer Salman Rushdie found guilty of terrorism
A federal court in New York has found 28-year-old Hadi Matar, who is serving a sentence for attempted murder over the knife attack on writer Salman Rushdie, guilty of an act of terrorism.
According to the BBC, Matar faces life imprisonment on this charge. The sentence will be handed down later.
The court stated that in his actions Matar was guided by the fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 — a religious decree that sentenced Salman Rushdie to death for his novel "The Satanic Verses" ("The International Movement of Satanism" is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation). In addition, Matar was found guilty of providing assistance to the Hezbollah movement, which is designated as a terrorist organization in the United States. The court noted that in 2006 Hezbollah leaders called for the fatwa to be carried out. It was this call that the defendant responded to.
Hadi Matar, a resident of the state of New Jersey, attacked Salman Rushdie in August 2022 during a lecture the writer was giving in New York. The man ran onto the stage and stabbed the writer more than ten times, as a result of which he lost a lot of blood and went blind in one eye. In May 2025, a court in New York sentenced Matar to 25 years in prison for attempted murder. The man is currently serving that sentence.
