Salman Rushdie Testifies in Trial of Alleged Attacker Following 2022 Stabbing

The author recounted the harrowing attack that left him with life-altering injuries, as witnesses described their efforts to stop the assailant.

Salman Rushdie testified in a New York court about the August 2022 knife attack that left him blinded in one eye and with lasting injuries to his hand.
Henry Reese, 75, who was also injured during the attack, described initially mistaking the assault for a prank before attempting to subdue the attacker.
The alleged assailant, Hadi Matar, 27, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
The attack occurred during a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution, where Rushdie and Reese were discussing the safety of writers in exile.
Matar, reportedly motivated by a fatwa issued in 1989 against Rushdie for his novel 'The Satanic Verses,' is also facing separate federal terrorism-related charges.