BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 16: Author Salman Rushdie attends a presentation of his book "Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder" (or "Knife. Gedanken nach einem Mordversuch" in German) at Deutsches Theater on May 16, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. The autobiographical memoir chronicles Rushdie's life after being stabbed on stage just before he was to deliver a lecture in western New York State in 2022, leaving him blind in one eye. (Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images)
  • Hadi Matar, 27, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 2022 attempted murder of author Salman Rushdie, leaving him blind in one eye, and the assault of Henry Reese at a New York lecture.
  • Matar, a U.S. citizen of Lebanese descent, was allegedly motivated by a 1989 Iranian fatwa against Rushdie for The Satanic Verses, endorsed by Hezbollah. However, prosecutors focused on the attack’s execution rather than motive.
  • Matar faces a separate federal trial for terrorism-related charges, with investigations linking him to Hezbollah ties from a trip to southern Lebanon. 
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