US JURY SENTENCES SALMAN RUSHDIE ATTACKER HADI MATAR TO 25 YEARS IN PRISON

Fri 16 May 2025:

A US jury sentenced Hadi Matar, the man who stabbed author Salman Rushdie during a 2022 lecture in New York, to 25 years in prison on Friday following his conviction for attempted murder and assault, US media reported.

Matar, a dual US-Lebanese citizen, was found guilty in February 2025 after an eight-day trial.

A New York jury handed down the maximum sentence for second-degree attempted murder, to be served concurrently with a seven-year sentence for assaulting another man on stage, according to the New York Times.

Rushdie, who was stabbed more than a dozen times as he prepared to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in 2022, suffered serious injuries, including blindness in one eye and damage to his liver, intestines, and other areas.

Matar also faces separate federal terrorism charges related to the attack.

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

Salman Rushdie, an Indian-born British-American novelist, sparked global controversy with his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses. The book, blending magical realism with historical fiction, was deemed blasphemous by many Muslims for its portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad.

In 1989, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death, forcing him into hiding under police protection for years. The novel was banned in over 20 countries, and protests, book burnings, and attacks on translators and publishers followed. Rushdie’s Italian translator was stabbed, his Japanese translator killed, and his Norwegian publisher shot.

The fatwa, never revoked, led to a 2022 stabbing attack on Rushdie in New York, leaving him gravely injured. The controversy ignited debates over free speech, censorship, and religious sensitivity, with Rushdie defending artistic expression while critics condemned the violence.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

__________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22