iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
Opening statements are set to begin Monday, February 10, in the trial of Hadi Matar, the man accused of attempting to fatally stab author Salman Rushdie during a lecture in western New York in August 2022.
Rushdie, 77, is expected to testify, facing his attacker for the first time in over two years.
Rushdie, known for works like Midnight’s Children and Victory City, was preparing to speak on writer safety when Matar attacked him on stage at the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater.
Matar stabbed Rushdie over a dozen times, including in the neck, stomach, chest, hand, and right eye, leaving him partially blind and with permanent hand damage.
In his memoir, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, Rushdie recounted the attack and his difficult recovery.
Matar, 27, from Fairview, New Jersey, faces charges of attempted murder and assault, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Jury selection was completed last week, with Matar present throughout the process.
The trial is expected to last up to 10 days, with jurors viewing video and photos from the day of the attack. The moderator of the event, Henry Reese, co-founder of City of Asylum, was also injured during the attack.
Matar told investigators he traveled by bus to Chautauqua and stayed on the grounds of the retreat the night before the attack. His defense strategy has not been disclosed.
Separately, federal authorities have indicted Matar on charges related to terrorism, alleging he was motivated by a fatwa issued by the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, calling for Rushdie’s death. Matar is believed to have been influenced by the endorsement of the fatwa by the militant group Hezbollah, including a 2006 speech by its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
A future trial will address these federal charges, including material support to terrorists and attempting to aid a terrorist organization. Rushdie spent years in hiding after the fatwa was issued in response to his novel The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims considered blasphemous.
