Salman Rushdie attacker, who stabbed him on stage in New York, sentenced to 25 years in jail

Hadi Matar, the man convicted of stabbing author Salman Rushdie on a New York lecture stage in 2022, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Friday. The 27-year-old was found guilty of attempted murder and assault by a jury in February. Rushdie, who was left blind in one eye from the attack, submitted a victim impact statement but did not appear in court for the sentencing.

During the trial, the 77-year-old author testified as the key witness, recalling how he felt he was dying when Matar, masked and armed with a



knife, attacked him on stage at the Chautauqua Institution. Rushdie described being stabbed in the head and body more than a dozen times as he was being introduced to speak about writer safety.

Before being sentenced, Matar stood in court wearing white-striped jail clothing and handcuffs, accusing Rushdie of being a "bully" and a "hypocrite" over his stance on free speech. "Salman Rushdie wants to disrespect other people," Matar said. "He wants to be a bully, he wants to bully other people. I don't agree with that."