MAYVILLE, N.Y. — Opening statements are set to commence Monday in the high-profile trial of a man accused of attempting to fatally stab acclaimed author Salman Rushdie during a lecture in western New York.
The trial of Hadi Matar will feature Rushdie, 77, expected to testify for the first time against the man who attacked him over two years ago.
Rushdie was allegedly targeted while preparing to discuss the safety of writers in August 2022 when Matar lunged at him on stage at the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater. He suffered over a dozen stab wounds to his neck, stomach, chest, hand, and right eye, resulting in partial blindness and lasting damage to one hand.
In his memoir, “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,” released last year, Rushdie provided a detailed account of the attack and his subsequent recovery journey.
Hadi Matar, 27, hails from Fairview, New Jersey, and faces charges of attempted murder and assault, to which he has pleaded not guilty. A jury was selected last week while Matar attended the three-day process, actively taking notes and consulting with his legal team.
Testimony is expected to last between one week and ten days, during which jurors will review video footage and photographs from the attack, which concluded when bystanders subdued Matar until law enforcement arrived. The event’s moderator, Henry Reese, also sustained injuries during the incident.
Matar disclosed to investigators that he traveled by bus to Chautauqua, approximately 75 miles south of Buffalo, and is believed to have stayed overnight on the retreat grounds prior to the attack.
The defense strategy has yet to be clarified by Matar’s attorney.
Additionally, federal authorities have indicated in a separate indictment that Matar was influenced by a terrorist organization’s fatwa, or religious edict, calling for Rushdie’s death. Matar is also facing federal charges related to terrorism and providing material support to terrorist groups, with a subsequent trial planned in U.S. District Court in Buffalo.
The threats against Rushdie began decades ago, following a fatwa issued by the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, which condemned Rushdie’s novel, “The Satanic Verses,” as blasphemous to some Muslims.
The indictment also suggests that Matar believed the fatwa was supported by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, referenced in a speech by the group’s former leader in 2006.
