MAYVILLE, N.Y. — Jury selection commenced Tuesday in Chautauqua County Court as Hadi Matar, a 27-year-old New Jersey resident, stands trial for the attempted murder of renowned author Salman Rushdie. Matar, who has pleaded not guilty, faces charges of attempted murder and assault following an incident in August 2022 where Rushdie was severely injured.
Rushdie, 77, was attacked and stabbed multiple times just before he was scheduled to speak at an event focusing on writer safety, resulting in serious injuries including blindness in one eye and permanent damage to his hand. The event moderator also sustained injuries during the assault.
Salman Rushdie is expected to be among the first witnesses to testify in a trial that is anticipated to span several weeks. Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt indicated that around 15 witnesses are expected to testify. Schmidt emphasized the public nature of the attack, noting that it occurred in front of thousands of live witnesses apart from being captured on video.
The prosecution plans to present video evidence of the assault during the trial but will avoid discussing the potential motives related to any terrorist organizations or ideologies. This aspect is deemed irrelevant for the proceedings at hand, focusing solely on the act of stabbing itself. Schmidt intends to keep the trial strictly about the local crime that transpired.
Matar’s defense, led by attorney Nathaniel Barone, has requested that jurors be vetted for any biases against people of Middle Eastern descent, highlighting prior public discussions about a fatwa, or religious decree, that allegedly motivated the crime. This decree, issued back in 1989 by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, called for Rushdie’s death following the publication of his novel “The Satanic Verses,” which some Muslims found blasphemous.
Further complicating the background of the case, federal authorities have linked the fatwa to beliefs that it was endorsed by Hezbollah, a militant group based in Lebanon, during a 2006 speech by its then-leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Matar, born in the U.S. but holding dual Lebanese citizenship, is also expected to face these aspects in a separate federal trial.
Salman Rushdie, originally from India, spent years in hiding due to the fatwa before settling in the United States, where he became a citizen in 2016.
This trial in Chautauqua County unfolds years after the decree against Rushdie was issued, bringing renewed attention to the challenges that writers face from potential threats incited by their work.
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