On Tuesday, Salman Rushdie was accused of stabbing by author refusing to accept a plea agreement for the alleged 2022 attack on Chautauqua Institute in western New York that would reduce his state prison sentence but leave him facing federal terrorism-related charges. Nathaniel Barone, a defense attorney, says Matar allegedly stabbed Rushdie more than once causing injury to an eye while he was preparing to deliver a speech. Loss of vision and other severe injuries.
The proposed deal, struck in Mayville, N.Y., would have required Matar, 26, to plead guilty for attempted murder in Chautauqua County as well as decrease the maximum state prison term from twenty-five to twenty years. According to lawyers involved in the case he has been convicted of federal charges of trying to provide material support for a designated terrorist organization that could tack on another 20 years behind bars.
In Mattar’s forthcoming trial where testimony will be given about how it happened Salman Rushdie is among those who will testify.
Hadi MatarHe was born in the United States and holds dual Lebanese citizenship; however, his mother said his behavior changed after visiting his father in Lebanon in 2018.
Best known for The Satanic Verses which sparked considerable controversy and provoked a fatwa upon him in 1989 Salman Rushdie narrated this incident as well as the recovery process as written on his memoirs. While going into hiding for several years due to threats on his life, Rushdie later resurfaced into public life still advocating for writers’ safety.
Rushdie writes about seeing an individual running towards himself within an amphitheater where he had planned talking about protecting authors against harm. The upcoming Matar trial has listed its author on the witness list.
