Hadi Matar, already in his 25‑year sentence for the 2024 stabbing of author Sir Salman Rushdie, has now been convicted of providing material support to the Hezbollah terrorist group and engaging in transnational terrorism at a federal court in Buffalo, New York.
The proceedings began Wednesday, when prosecutors presented evidence that Matar had planned the attack over two years, drawing on religious orders issued by Iran’s high‑ranking clerical leadership. The murder attempt took place in 2024, during a press outing, when Matar stabbed Rushdie fifteen times, including near the eye and on the chest.
Rushdie testified on the stand, recounting the wound that left him partially blinded and describing the scene as a “lake of blood.” He also thanked a nearby firefighter who rushed to his aid.
Defense lawyers argued that the attack had no terrorism motive, but the judge allowed the jury to consider that the attack was driven by the fatwa issued in 1989 and reinforced by a 2006 Hezbollah speech calling for Rushdie’s removal. The jury ultimately convicted Matar of both transnational terrorism and material support to Hezbollah, a group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and U.K.
The sentencing in the federal court could change Matar’s fate from a fixed 25‑year term to potential life imprisonment, marking a significant escalation in the legal reckoning for those who act on extremist orders against the victim. The case underscores global concerns over religious extremism and sexual violence in the wake of Rushdie’s well‑known controversial novel, The Satanic Verses, and the worldwide death threats he received since the fatwa’s issuance.
