Terrorism trial opens in stabbing of author Salman Rushdie

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� The man who was went on trial again Wednesday, this time in a federal case that casts the as an act of terrorism.

Prosecutors said Hadi Matar attacked the renowned author and free-speech advocate in 2022 to try to carry out a decades-old fatwa, or religious ruling, calling for Rushdie’s death over what some Muslims saw as blasphemy in his 1988 novel 鈥淭he Satanic Verses.鈥�

鈥淔ulfill the fatwa 鈥� that鈥檚 what Hadi Matar intended to do,鈥� Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch said in an opening statement at a federal courthouse in Buffalo, New York, about 70 miles (110 km) from the where Rushdie was assaulted. The Booker Prize-winning author is expected to testify later this week about the stabbing that nearly killed him and left him blind in one eye.

Defense attorney Nathaniel Barone urged jurors to keep their minds open about the case, which hinges not only on actions but on motivation.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to have to ask yourselves: What was Hadi Matar鈥檚 intent?鈥� Barone said in his opening.

An audience watched in terror as Rushdie was stabbed

Matar, 28, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that include engaging in an act of transnational terrorism. He took notes on a yellow pad and rarely looked at jurors during the opening statements, at times shifting around in his swivel chair. Currently serving on an attempted murder and assault conviction, he was attired for court in dress pants and a shirt that seemed too large.

Rushdie, now 79, was repeatedly slashed in front of a horrified audience at the Chautauqua Institution, where he . He recounted the assault and his lengthy recovery , in and in multiple interviews.

鈥淭he thing that happens when you get really a close-up look at death 鈥� that鈥檚 as close as you can get without actually doing the dance of death and heading off to nowhere 鈥� it stays with you,鈥� he in 2024. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a shadow.鈥�

Federal terrorism trial hinges on Matar’s motivation

The attempted murder case against Matar focused on the details of the knife attack while the federal one delves more into questions of motive. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence.

Prosecutors have argued that he was acting out of loyalty to Iran’s theocratic government and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group after the Islamic Republic’s late called for Rushdie’s death because of his 1988 novel, 鈥淭he Satanic Verses.鈥�

Matar’s electronics included information on the fatwa that sought Rushdie’s death, and Matar kept a journal and sticky notes logging his research on Rushdie and possible ways and places to kill him, prosecutors said in a 2025 court filing. In Matar鈥檚 New Jersey bedroom, federal agents found photos of Khomeini and his now-deceased successor, , the filing said.

鈥淲hen he attempted to carry out the fatwa, he believed he was doing so on behalf of鈥� Hezbollah, which the U.S. government designates as a terrorist organization, Lynch and fellow Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kruly wrote in the filing.

In the years leading up to the trial, Matar’s lawyers tried unsuccessfully to exclude some evidence from his social media accounts and other digital activity, arguing that the government’s electronic searches cast too big a net.

Matar , and it’s unclear whether he will take the stand in federal court. At his state court sentencing, Matar said he believed in free speech but asserted that Rushdie was 鈥渁 hypocrite鈥� who 鈥渨ants to bully other people.鈥�

Matar also while heading into and out of the state courtroom.

Born in the U.S. to parents who immigrated from Lebanon, Matar is a citizen of both countries. His mother has said he turned moody and withdrawn after a 2018 trip to Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based.

How Ayatollah’s edict affected Rushdie

Rushdie was born in India, raised in Britain 鈥� where he was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II 鈥� and now is a U.S. citizen. He won the Booker Prize in 1981 for 鈥淢idnight鈥檚 Children,鈥� a magical realist novel about a personal and national journey that begins at the instant when India became independent.

But Rushdie became most famous, and notorious, for 鈥淭he Satanic Verses,鈥� particularly a passage featuring a dream sequence about the . Some Muslims saw it as blasphemous, and often-violent protests erupted against Rushdie, who was born into a Muslim family.

Khomeini’s 1989 fatwa drove Rushdie into hiding for years. Although Iran hasn’t focused in recent years on the decree, it was never rescinded. Iran’s government in the 2022 stabbing, but its Foreign Ministry’s then-spokesperson suggested Rushdie invited trouble by insulting Islam.

After 鈥淜nife,鈥� Rushdie’s memoir about the stabbing, he returned to fiction with last year’s a book of short stories and novellas. He was lifetime achievement award in November.

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Peltz reported from New York.