Hadi Matar convicted of terror offences for Salman Rushdie attack

Hadi Matar, who is currently serving a 25-year sentence for his attempt on Sir Salman Rushdie's life, was found guilty on Wednesday in a federal court in New York of aiding Hezbollah and participating in transnational terrorism. Prosecutors asserted that Matar was inspired by a speech from a Hezbollah leader in 2006 that urged the enforcement of the 1989 fatwa against Rushdie, alleging he had planned the attack for two years. At 28, Matar recorded videos and attacked Rushdie with 15 stab wounds during a public event. Rushdie testified, attributing his survival to a firefighter and displaying his eye injury. The defense argued that the assault did not constitute terrorism. Matar now faces a potential life sentence. Rushdie's novel, The Satanic Verses, incited the fatwa, leading him to live in hiding for nine years. He later published a memoir, Knife, and is set to release his first fiction since the attack, The Eleventh Hour, in 2025.