Rushdie Attacker Convicted on Terrorism Charges in US

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New York: A US federal jury has convicted the man who stabbed author Salman Rushdie in a 2022 attack of terrorism-related offences, ruling that the assault was motivated by extremist ideology linked to Iran.

Hadi Matar, a 28 year old Lebanese American, was found guilty of engaging in an act of terrorism and providing support to the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Prosecutors said he spent months planning the knife attack on Rushdie, which left the author blind in one eye.

According to federal prosecutors, Matar acted in support of a decades-old religious decree calling for Rushdie's death over his novel The Satanic Verses. Investigators also said they found material linked to Hezbollah during searches connected to the case.

The attack took place in August 2022 at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, where Rushdie was about to speak at an event on free expression. Matar rushed onto the stage and repeatedly stabbed the author before being restrained.

Matar had already been convicted in a New York state court of attempted murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He now faces the possibility of a life sentence following the federal convictions, with sentencing scheduled for November 3.

Rushdie, who spent years living under threat after the fatwa was issued in 1989, has since spoken out against political and religious extremism, describing violence as a tool used to silence culture, literature and free expression.

Pic Credit: AFP