Hadi Matar, a US resident already incarcerated for 25 years for the attempted murder of Sir Salman Rushdie, has received additional convictions in a New York federal court. The jury found Matar guilty of providing material support to the Lebanese faction Hezbollah and committing an act of transnational terrorism.
Government attorneys presented evidence suggesting that Matar acted in response to a 1989 religious decree and a 2006 speech by Hezbollah leadership calling for the author’s death. During the trial, Sir Salman Rushdie provided testimony regarding the 2022 attack, during which he sustained 15 stab wounds and lost partial vision in one eye. He credited a first responder with saving his life while describing the severity of his injuries.
The defense team attempted to challenge the terrorism charges, questioning the author regarding his controversial 1988 work, The Satanic Verses. Rushdie maintained that the trial concerned the defendant’s actions rather than his literature. While Matar is currently serving a state-issued 25-year sentence for attempted murder, this new federal conviction carries a potential life sentence.
