A New Jersey man, Hadi Matar, 27, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the attempted murder and assault of novelist Sir Salman Rushdie, who was partially blinded during the attack. Matar stabbed Rushdie multiple times while he was giving a lecture in August 2022, resulting in significant injuries, including damage to Rushdie’s liver and nerve damage in his arm.
Matar was convicted earlier this year, and in addition to Rushdie, he injured the interviewer, Henry Reese, for which he received an additional seven-year sentence. Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt stated that both sentences would run concurrently.
In a courtroom statement, Matar accused Rushdie of hypocrisy regarding freedom of speech, while Rushdie was absent during the sentencing. Matar, who pleaded not guilty and did not testify, had expressed disdain for Rushdie, claiming the author attacked Islam. The attack came 35 years after the publication of Rushdie’s controversial novel, The Satanic Verses, which sparked outrage and led to a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death.
Despite the threats, Rushdie had recently noted that he felt his life was somewhat normal. He later chronicled his recovery journey in a memoir titled Meditation after an Attempted Murder.
