Overview

• Hadi Matar was sentenced to 25 years in prison for second-degree attempted murder and an additional 7 years for assault, to be served concurrently.
• The attack occurred in August 2022 at a Chautauqua, New York, conference, where Matar stabbed Salman Rushdie multiple times in front of an audience of nearly 1,000 people.
• Rushdie suffered severe injuries, including the loss of vision in his right eye, nerve damage to a hand, and perforations to his liver and small intestine.
• Matar, an American-Lebanese citizen, claimed his actions were motivated by opposition to Rushdie’s perceived criticism of Islam, referencing but not fully endorsing the 1989 Iranian fatwa against the author.
• Separate federal terrorism charges against Matar, alleging support for Hezbollah, remain pending as Iran denies involvement in the attack.