Salman Rushdie’s Attacker Sentenced To 25 Years For Brutal Stage Assault

 

Hadi Matar, the man convicted of attacking acclaimed author Salman Rushdie during a 2022 lecture in western New York, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. The 27-year-old was found guilty in February of attempted murder and assault following a violent stabbing that left Rushdie permanently blind in one eye.

Rushdie, 77, did not attend Friday’s sentencing but submitted a victim impact statement. He had testified during the trial, describing in detail the harrowing moment when Matar charged the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and stabbed him repeatedly in the head and torso as he prepared to speak on freedom of expression.

In a brief statement before sentencing, Matar denounced Rushdie as a hypocrite, citing freedom of speech—though he did not express remorse for his actions.

The judge handed down the maximum sentence: 25 years for the attempted murder of Rushdie, and seven years for injuring another man who was on stage at the time. The sentences will run concurrently, as both victims were attacked during the same incident.

Prosecutor Jason Schmidt argued that Matar’s actions were intentional and calculated. “He designed this attack so that he could inflict the most amount of damage,” Schmidt said, not only to Rushdie but also to the community and the 1,400 people in attendance that day.

Defense attorney Nathaniel Barone highlighted Matar’s lack of prior criminal history and suggested a 12-year sentence would be more appropriate. He also challenged the idea that the audience members were victims.

Rushdie, best known for novels such as Midnight’s Children, The Moor’s Last Sigh, and Victory City, spent 17 days in a Pennsylvania hospital and more than three weeks in rehabilitation after the attack. He detailed his recovery and the impact of the stabbing in his 2024 memoir, Knife.

Matar still faces a federal trial on terrorism-related charges. While the first trial centered on the violent attack, the upcoming case is expected to examine Matar’s motives more closely.

Prosecutors allege Matar was inspired by a decades-old fatwa issued in 1989 by Iran’s then-leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, calling for Rushdie’s death over his controversial novel The Satanic Verses. Matar, a U.S. citizen from New Jersey, is believed to have viewed the fatwa as legitimate and tied to the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah, which he reportedly supported.

He has pleaded not guilty to federal charges including providing material support to terrorists, attempting to aid Hezbollah, and engaging in international terrorism.

Security footage presented during the trial captured the chilling assault: Matar approached Rushdie from behind, stabbing rapidly at his torso. Rushdie is seen trying to escape as the audience screams, until both men fall to the floor and bystanders rush in to intervene.

Jurors reached their verdict in less than two hours of deliberation, concluding one of the most high-profile criminal trials involving an attack on free speech in recent history.