New York court finds Salman Rushdie attacker guilty of attempted murder

American-Lebanese man Hadi Matar, accused of stabbing Salman Rushdie, the author of The Satanic Verses, was found guilty of attempted murder by the court. The 27-year-old defendant, a New Jersey resident, chanted "Free Palestine" during his court appearance.

The Chautauqua County Court in western New York convicted Matar on Friday for the 2022 attack on Rushdie.

According to reports, Rushdie was attending an event in New York to discuss writers' safety when Matar went on stage and attacked him, inflicting multiple stab wounds to his head, neck, torso, and left hand.

The severe injuries blinded Rushdie’s right eye and caused critical damage to his liver and intestines, injuries that will require years of recovery.

During the seven days of testimony, video evidence of the attack was presented repeatedly to the jury.

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Salman Rushdie, a New York-based British-American author born to a Muslim family in Indian-occupied Kashmir, has faced death threats since the controversial publication of The Satanic Verses in 1988.

The novel was denounced by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, as derogatory to Islam.

In addition to the charge related to Rushdie’s stabbing, Matar was also convicted of second-degree murder and second-degree assault for stabbing Henry Reese, the co-founder of Pittsburgh’s City of Asylum, a group that supports exiled authors and organized the event Rushdie attended.

Nathaniel Barone, the public defender for Hadi Matar, told the media that the video evidence proved particularly damaging, saying, "It's that old expression: A picture is worth a thousand words."

As he left the courtroom in handcuffs, Matar quietly said, "Free Palestine," a phrase he has used during previous appearances.

Matar is scheduled to be sentenced on April 23 and could face up to 25 years in prison. Previously, in an interview with the New York Post, he defended his actions by claiming that Rushdie had insulted Islam.

Federal authorities have also charged Matar with terrorism and providing material support to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an organisation that condemned Rushdie’s book as blasphemous. The US has labelled Hezbollah a terrorist organisation.