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Man who tried to kill author Salman Rushdie in New York found guilty of attempted murder

Accused Hadi Matar could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison

By AP

Published Date - 22 February 2025, 12:53 AM

Man who tried to kill author Salman Rushdie in New York found guilty of attempted murder — Hadi Matar, charged with severely injuring author Salman Rushdie in a 2022 knife attack, at the Chautauqua County Court in Mayville, New York, on Friday. Photo: AP

Mayville: A New Jersey man was convicted Friday of attempted murder and assault for stabbing author Salman Rushdie multiple times on a New York lecture stage in 2022.

A jury found Hadi Matar, 27, guilty after a little less than two hours of deliberations following a trial in Chautauqua County Court.

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Matar ran onto the stage at the Chautauqua Institution where Rushdie was about to speak on August 12, 2022, and stabbed him more than a dozen times before a live audience. The attack left the 77-year-old prizewinning novelist blind in one eye. Another man was injured.

Rushdie was the key witness during seven days of testimony, describing in graphic detail his life-threatening injuries and long and painful recovery. Matar could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.

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