Trial of Salman Rushdie's Attacker; Hadi Matar Faces Federal Charges

The trial of the man accused of attempting to murder Salman Rushdie, the famous British-Indian novelist, during his speech in New York, is set to begin on Tuesday, February 5, with jury selection. Hadi Matar, a 26-year-old son of Lebanese immigrants, became radicalized to 'Shia Islam' after traveling to Lebanon in 2018 and is a supporter of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. In August 2022, he attacked Rushdie on stage at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. The 77-year-old Rushdie was stabbed multiple times, resulting in the loss of his right eye and damage to his liver. Matar pleads not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault. Since the publication of 'The Satanic Verses' in 1988, Rushdie has lived under police protection in the UK after Ayatollah Khomeini, the former leader of the Islamic Republic, issued a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill him. The Iranian government set a reward of over $3 million for anyone who kills Rushdie, but claimed in the early 1990s that it would not act on the fatwa. A foundation known as '15 Khordad Foundation', linked to the 'Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command', which operates under the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, increased the reward for Rushdie's assassination by $500,000. This led the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to sanction the foundation on October 28, 2022. Mr. Rushdie is expected to be one of the first witnesses to testify at Hadi Matar's trial. Rushdie has also published his memoirs about the attack, stating in interviews that he felt he was going to die on stage. After the attack, Matar told the New York Post that he had only read 'pages' of 'The Satanic Verses'. He said he traveled from New Jersey to the event based on a social media post by Rushdie announcing the event at the Chautauqua Institution, adding that he disliked Rushdie for attacking Islam. According to the New York Post, Matar, who holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Lebanon, expressed surprise at Rushdie's survival. Matar's trial has been postponed twice, the latest after his lawyer unsuccessfully sought to move the trial to another location, arguing that Matar could not have a fair trial in Chautauqua. The trial is being held in Chautauqua Court in Mayfield, a town with a population of 1,500 near the Canadian border. If Matar is found guilty of attempted murder, he faces a maximum of 25 years in prison. Matar is also facing federal charges. The U.S. Attorney's Office in western New York has charged him with attempting to murder Rushdie as a 'terrorist act' and providing material support to Hezbollah, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist group. The man accused of attempting to murder Salman Rushdie in New York faces federal charges. The attacker denied attempting to kill the author of 'The Satanic Verses'. Salman Rushdie is publishing his memoirs of the knife attack, stating, 'I responded to violence with art.' The U.S. Attorney's Office is investigating potential links between Rushdie's attacker and the Islamic Republic.