Salman Rushdie attacker convicted of terror offenses

What the report says

BBC World News reported that Hadi Matar, the US man already imprisoned for the 2022 stabbing of Sir Salman Rushdie, was convicted Wednesday in federal court in New York on terrorism-related charges. A jury found the 28-year-old guilty of providing material support to Hezbollah and committing an act of transnational terrorism, according to the report.

Prosecutors said Matar attacked the British-Indian author to advance Hezbollah’s interests and was influenced by calls to enforce the 1989 fatwa issued by Iran’s religious leader after publication of Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses. During the Buffalo trial, they argued he had planned the assault for two years and presented videos made by Matar. The BBC said prosecutors also pointed to a 2006 speech by Hezbollah’s then-leader urging enforcement of the decree.

Rushdie testified about being stabbed 15 times while on stage, including wounds to his face, neck, chest, eye and thigh. He credited medical help from a firefighter with helping save his life and showed jurors the injury that left him partly blind. Defense lawyers disputed that the attack was terrorism-related and questioned Rushdie about reaction to his 1988 novel; Rushdie responded that the case was about the person on trial, not the book.

Matar was sentenced in 2025 to 25 years after a state attempted murder conviction. The BBC reported that the new federal conviction could expose him to a life sentence. The case carries broader significance because Rushdie spent years under threat after the fatwa, and the latest verdict links the attack to US terrorism statutes involving Hezbollah, which is designated a terrorist organization by the US, UK and other governments.