A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the brutal stabbing of renowned novelist Sir Salman Rushdie. Hadi Matar, now 27, was convicted of attempted murder and assault after attacking Rushdie while he was addressing an audience in August 2022. The attack left the author partially blind, with serious injuries to his liver and debilitating nerve damage to his arm.
Matar's assault occurred more than three decades after Rushdie's controversial novel *The Satanic Verses* incited a wave of death threats against him, primarily due to its portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad. During the sentencing, Matar received the maximum prison term for attempted murder. Additionally, he was sentenced to seven years, running concurrently, for assaulting Henry Reese, the interviewer who was also injured during the attack.
In a courtroom statement, Matar invoked the theme of free speech and criticized Rushdie, calling him a "hypocrite" and a "bully." He expressed disdain for the author, claiming that Rushdie disrespected others and suggested that he deserved the attack. Notably, Rushdie was not present for the sentencing.
The trial that led to Matar's conviction involved emotional testimonies, including one from Rushdie himself, who vividly recounted the moment he perceived the threat to his life. He described a man rushing towards him with "dark, ferocious" eyes, leading to a life-altering assault that resulted in a total of 15 stab wounds.
While Matar's defense contended that there was insufficient evidence of intent to kill, prosecutors argued that the premeditated nature of the attack was clear, emphasizing that Rushdie was deliberately targeted amidst a bustling crowd. Matar did not choose to testify or call witnesses in his defense, and after the verdict, he stated in a 2022 interview that he admired the Iranian leader who issued a fatwa against Rushdie, indicating his motivations were related to the author’s critiques of Islam.
Following years of enduring death threats, Rushdie believed the threats had subsided, stating just before the attack that his life was "relatively normal." He has since chronicled his experiences and recovery journey in a memoir titled *Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder*, reflecting on the impact of the attack both physically and emotionally.
Both the prosecution and victims expressed relief that justice had been served as Matar prepares to serve his lengthy sentence, a stark reminder of the complex interplay between literature, freedom of speech, and cultural sensitivities.
