Salman Rushdie assailant convicted of terrorism

A federal jury convicted Salman Rushdie's assailant, Hadi Matar, of engaging in an act of terrorism over the August 2022 stabbing attack at the Chautauqua Institution in Mayville, New York.

Matar, a 28-year-old Lebanese American, was also convicted of supporting Hezbollah. He had already been convicted in New York state court of attempted murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

US Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said Matar spent months planning the attack, which left Rushdie blind in one eye. Federal prosecutors said Matar followed a fatwa calling for Rushdie's execution that was first issued in 1989 by Iran's late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini over Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses."

Rushdie testified during Matar's federal trial last week. Asked whether he believed Matar was motivated by the fatwa, Rushdie said, according to US media: "I had no knowledge of that. I have my suspicions."

Matar now faces a maximum additional federal penalty of life in prison. He is due to be sentenced on November 3. The New York Times reported that his attorney, Nathaniel Barone II, said he intended to appeal the ruling.