In brief
Hadi Matar, already serving a 25‑year sentence for the brutal assault on bestselling author Sir Salman Rushdie, was found in New York to have aided Hezbollah in a federal terrorism case. Prosecutors linked his actions to a 1989 fatwa by Iran’s Supreme Leader, citing a 2006 Hezbollah speech that urged the killing of Rushdie. The jury accepted that Matar had acted on an extremist mandate, allowing the actor to face life in prison under the new conviction. Rushdie’s testimony highlighted his surviving wounds and the harrowing nature of the incident, while the defense argued for a non‑terrorist motive. The case underscores the continuing international implications of Rushdie’s literary work.
In a New York federal court on Wednesday, 28‑year‑old Hadi Matar was found guilty of providing material support to Hezbollah and of transnational terrorism. Matar, who is already serving a 25‑year sentence for the brutal 2022 stabbing of author Sir Salman Rushdie, will now face the possibility of a life sentence.
The prosecution argued that Matar’s actions were driven by a 1989 fatwa issued by Iran’s Supreme Leader calling for Rushdie’s death. They cited a 2006 Hezbollah speech that urged the enforcement of the decree and claimed the attacker had plotted the assault for two years.
Rushdie testified in the courtroom, recapping the attack and crediting a firefighter for his immediate medical assistance. He described being stabbed fifteen times, including wounds to his cheek, chest, eye, neck and thigh, and revealing an eye injury that left him partially blinded. He noted the attacker’s knife had reached within millimetres of his brain.
Defense lawyers contended that Matar’s act was not motivated by terrorism, questioning whether anyone expected a violent backlash against Rushdie’s 1988 novel The Satanic Verses. Rushdie replied, "I don’t believe the book is on trial. Somebody else is on trial."
The jurors ultimately found Matar guilty of engaging in an act of transnational terrorism and providing material support to a designated terrorist organization. The new conviction could substantially increase his prison term.
