Defendant in Salman Rushdie stabbing declines to testify in terrorism trial
Prosecutors say Hadi Matar acted on ideological motives and private notes as the federal terrorism case moves toward jury deliberations.
- On Tuesday, Hadi Matar declined to testify in his federal terrorism trial, calling no witnesses as the case heads to the jury Wednesday morning for closing arguments.
- Prosecutors contend that Matar acted upon the 1989 death call by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini targeting Salman Rushdie over "The Satanic Verses." Matar researched Rushdie's whereabouts starting in 2020, writing notes to "kill him ASAP."
- At the Chautauqua Institution in 2022, the assailant climbed on stage and stabbed Rushdie 15 times, leaving the author blind in one eye. Matar is currently serving a 25-year sentence for state-level attempted murder.
- Defense attorney Nathaniel Barone unsuccessfully argued Tuesday that prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to proceed. A judge denied his motion to dismiss, allowing the federal terrorism charges to advance to jury deliberation.
- If convicted in this federal case, the American-Lebanese citizen faces a potential life sentence on transnational terrorism charges. Prosecutors allege Matar acted with loyalty to Lebanon-based Hezbollah, distinguishing this trial from his prior state conviction.
32 Articles
32 Articles
Three years after the assassination of the writer Salman Rushdie, the terror trial is over. The 28-year-old defendant is silent. He is threatened with life imprisonment.
LancasterOnline
BUFFALO, New York, USA (AP) — The man who is being tried for Salman Rushdie's stabbing chose not to testify or call any witnesses on Tuesday in the federal terrorism case, which is expected to reach the...
4 years after near-fatal stabbing, Salman Rushdie confronts attacker in court, recounts ‘enormous pool of blood’ around him
1981 Booker Prize-winning novelist Salman Rushdie recounted the horror of the almost-fatal attack on him that took away the vision from his right eye, as he sat across from the accused. The convicted attacker, 28-year-old Hadi Matar, is now facing trial in a separate terrorism case in Buffalo, New York State. On Thursday, July 23,...
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