Man found guilty of attempted murder over Salman Rushdie attack

By Henry Moore

A man charged with stabbing legendary British-Indian author Sir Salman Rushdie multiple times has been found guilty of attempted murder.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Hadi Matar, 27, has been found guilty of attempted murder and assault in the August 2022 attack at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York and could now face more than 30 years behind bars.

Sir Salman, 77, survived the attack but suffered damage to his liver, loss of vision in one eye and damage to nerve endings in his arm.

During the two-week trial, the Booker Prize-winning author told jurors he thought he was dying when a masked stranger ran onto the stage and stabbed and slashed at him until being tackled by bystanders.

Sir Salman showed jurors his now-blinded right eye, usually hidden behind a darkened lens.

Jurors also heard from a trauma surgeon who said Sir Salman's injuries would have been fatal without quick treatment, and a law enforcement officer who said Matar was calm and co-operative in his custody.

Read more: Man seriously injured in stabbing at Berlin Holocaust Memorial as police hunt suspect

They were shown video of the assault and aftermath that was captured from multiple angles by Chautauqua Institution cameras.

The recordings also picked up the gasps and screams from audience members who had been seated to hear Sir Salman speak with City of Asylum Pittsburgh founder Henry Reese about keeping writers safe. Mr Reese suffered a gash to his forehead.

From the witness stand, institution staff and others present that day pointed to Matar as the assailant.

Stabbed and slashed more than a dozen times in the head, throat, torso, thigh and hand, Sir Salman spent 17 days at a Pennsylvania hospital and more than three weeks at a New York City rehabilitation centre.

He detailed his long and painful recovery in his 2024 memoir, Knife.

Throughout the trial, Matar often took notes with a pen and sometimes laughed or smiled with defence attorneys during breaks in testimony.

His lawyers declined to call any witnesses of their own and Matar did not testify in his defence.

Public Defender Nathaniel Barone said Matar likely would have faced a lesser charge of assault were it not for Sir Salman's celebrity.

"We think that it became an attempted murder because of the notoriety of the alleged victim in the case," Mr Barone told reporters after testimony concluded on Thursday.

"That's been it from the very beginning. It's been nothing more, nothing less. And it's for publicity purposes. It's for self-interest purposes."

Matar’s sentencing has been scheduled for 23 April.