New York, July 25:
The man who attacked author Salman Rushdie, blinding his right eye, went on trial on transnational terrorism charges in a federal court on Wednesday. Hadi Matar attacked to “fulfil the fatwa”, the Iranian religious edict demanding Rushdie’s killing because his novel ‘Satanic Verses’ was considered blasphemous by Islamic clerics, assistant federal prosecutor Timothy Lynch told the court in Buffalo.
Matar was convicted last year in New York State court of attempting to murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He now faces federal terrorism charges under a separate set of laws. In the US, state and federal laws are separate, and a person can be tried on related charges for a single offence under different local and federal statutes.
If convicted of the terrorism charge, Matar could face life in prison. Matar, who is a US citizen of Lebanese descent, attacked Rushdie on a stage during a literary programme in 2022 at the Chautauqua Institution, a literary and arts centre about 600 kilometres from the city. The federal trial is taking place in Buffalo, close to the Canada border. Matar has denied the conspiracy charges.