US Court Convicts Salman Rushdie Attacker of Terror-Related Offenses
Hadi Matar, already serving a 25-year sentence for attempting to kill author Salman Rushdie, was found guilty in a New York federal court of providing material support to Hezbollah and could face a life sentence.
A New York federal jury on Wednesday convicted Hadi Matar, 28, of providing material support to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and other nations. The verdict adds federal terrorism charges to the 25-year state prison term Matar is already serving for the 2022 stabbing of author Sir Salman Rushdey.
Prosecutors said Matar acted under the influence of a 1989 fatwa issued by Iran’s supreme leader and a 2006 Hezbollah speech that called for the edict’s enforcement. They presented video recordings made by Matar and testimony from Rushdie, who described being stabbed fifteen times and credited a firefighter with saving his life.
"The defendant decided no one was going to do it, so he had to do it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch said in closing arguments.
The defense argued the attack was not terrorism-motivated, questioning whether Rushdie should have anticipated backlash over his 1988 novel. Rushdie responded, "I don't believe the book is on trial. Somebody else is on trial."
If sentenced on the new federal convictions, Matar could receive a life term in addition to his existing sentence.