US jury convicts Hadi Matar on terrorism charges for 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie
A federal jury in the United States convicted Hadi Matar on Wednesday (July 29, 2026) of terrorism charges in connection with the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie. The verdict, delivered in a New York court, found Matar guilty on all counts, including engaging in an act of transnational terrorism.
Matar, now 28, already serves a 25-year state prison sentence after being convicted of attempted murder in the August 2022 attack. The federal conviction carries a potential life sentence. The attack took place at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York, where Rushdie was about to deliver a lecture on the safety of writers.
Rushdie, 79, sustained 15 stab wounds and lost sight in one eye. He survived after emergency surgery and extensive recovery. The author had been under a death threat since 1989, when Iran's then-leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for his death over the novel "The Satanic Verses," which some Muslims considered blasphemous.
The prosecution argued that Matar, a U.S. citizen of Lebanese descent, acted in sympathy with the fatwa and extremist ideology. Defence lawyers did not dispute that Matar carried out the stabbing but argued that the terrorism charges were overreaching. The jury disagreed, finding that the attack was an act of terrorism intended to influence U.S. policy and intimidate civilians.
The case has drawn attention to issues of free expression, religious extremism, and the long reach of historical edicts. Rushdie has continued to write and speak publicly since the attack, advocating for writers facing threats.
The sentencing date for the federal conviction has not yet been set. Matar is expected to appeal the verdict.
