The trial of Hadi Matar, the man accused of the attempted stabbing death of author Salman Rushdie, commenced with opening statements in western New York. The 27-year-old from Fairview, New Jersey, faces charges of attempted murder and assault in connection with the August 2022 incident at the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater. Rushdie, known for his novel "The Satanic Verses," among others, is slated to testify, marking the first time he will come face-to-face with Matar since the attack, as detailed by CBS News New York.
Rushdie's scheduled talk was ironically to address the safety of writers when he was violently assaulted, suffering multiple stab wounds that resulted in grievous injuries, including partial blindness and lasting hand damage. In spite of living under a fatwa—issued in 1989 by Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini—Rushdie had been traveling without the restraints of his erstwhile life in hiding, as NBC New York reported.
The jury for the case, which is expected to run a week to 10 days, was selected last week. During an emotional narrative of events, the court plans to show jurors video and photographic evidence from the day of the attack. The violence ended when audience members intervened, subduing Matar and thus, enabling his subsequent arrest. Henry Reese, the moderator of the event and co-founder of City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, also sustained injuries in the scuffle.
Matar, having pleaded not guilty, had to observe the proceedings without his main attorney, Nathaniel Barone, due to hospitalization. The judge promptly denied a request to delay the opening statements, requiring a legal associate to stand in for Barone. The suspect's defense plans, however, still remain undisclosed. Matar, who voiced "Free Palestine" while being escorted into court, is believed to have made the journey by bus the night prior to the assault, bedding down on the grounds of the institution as per CBS News New York.
Apart from the state charges, Matar faces additional federal terrorism charges. These stem from allegations that his actions were motivated by a terrorist organization's endorsement of the fatwa against Rushdie. Speculation suggests Matar considered Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based militant group, as backing the edict, as indicated in a speech by their former leader Hassan Nasrallah. These federal charges will be separately addressed in a forthcoming trial at U.S. District Court in Buffalo, as seen in both CBS News New York and NBC New York coverage.
