A man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for stabbing author Salman Rushdie, an attack that left Rushdie blind in one eye. Hadi Matar was found guilty of attempted murder and assault in February, following the incident that occurred in August 2022.
Prosecutors had sought the maximum sentence of 25 years for Matar, along with an additional seven years for injuring another person during the attack. The stabbing happened while Rushdie was about to speak at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, where he was discussing writer safety. Matar attacked Rushdie with a knife, stabbing him over a dozen times in the head, neck, and torso. As a result, Rushdie suffered severe injuries, including damage to his liver and intestines.
Rushdie spent 17 days in a Pennsylvania hospital and then more than three weeks in a rehabilitation facility in New York City to recover from his injuries. He later shared his experience in his memoir, "Knife," published in 2024.
During the trial, Rushdie described the terrifying moment of the attack, expressing his fear that he might die. The attack was linked to a fatwa issued in 1989 by Iran’s then-leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which called for Rushdie’s death due to his novel "The Satanic Verses," considered blasphemous by some Muslims. Although Iran announced in 1998 that it would not enforce the fatwa, the threat against Rushdie’s life has persisted.
Matar, who is 27 years old, will face additional charges related to terrorism. Prosecutors allege that he was attempting to fulfill the long-standing fatwa against Rushdie. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of providing materials to terrorists and attempting to support Hezbollah, among others.