Terrorism trial set to open in stabbing of author Salman Rushdie

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� The man who was is going on trial again, this time in a federal terrorism case that is probing deeper into what allegedly motivated the in 2022.

Opening statements are set for Wednesday in Hadi Matar’s trial in the federal courthouse in Buffalo, New York. It’s about 70 miles (113 km) from the where the renowned author and free-speech advocate was .

The Booker Prize-winning Rushdie, now 79, is expected to be among the first witnesses, again describing the stabbing that nearly killed him and left him blind in one eye. He has recounted the moment and his lengthy recovery at Matar’s state-court attempted murder trial, in and in multiple interviews.

鈥淭he thing that happens when you get really a close-up look at death 鈥� that鈥檚 as close as you can get without actually doing the dance of death and heading off to nowhere 鈥� it stays with you,鈥� he in 2024. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a shadow.鈥�

Matar, 28, already is serving on a state-level attempted murder and assault conviction. That case focused mostly on the details of the knife attack itself; the federal one delves more into questions of motive.

Matar has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that include engaging in an act of transnational terrorism. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence.

Prosecutors have argued that he was acting out of loyalty to Iran’s theocratic government and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group after the Islamic Republic’s late called for Rushdie’s death because of his 1988 novel 鈥淭he Satanic Verses.鈥�

Matar’s electronics included information on the fatwa, or Islamic religious ruling, that sought Rushdie’s death, and Matar kept a journal and sticky notes logging his research on Rushdie and possible ways and places to kill him, prosecutors said in a 2025 court filing. In Matar鈥檚 New Jersey bedroom, federal agents found photos of Khomeini and now-deceased successor , the filing said.

鈥淲hen he attempted to carry out the fatwa, he believed he was doing so on behalf of鈥� Hezbollah, which the U.S. government designates as a terrorist organization, assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Lynch and Charles Kruly wrote in the filing.

Asked about the case Tuesday, Matar’s attorney Nathaniel Barone said he planned to give an opening statement. In the years leading up to the trial, Matar’s lawyers tried unsuccessfully to exclude some evidence from his social media accounts and other digital activity, arguing that the government’s electronic searches cast too big a net.

Matar , and it’s unclear whether he will take the stand in federal court. At his state court sentencing, Matar said he believed in free speech, but he asserted that Rushdie was 鈥渁 hypocrite鈥� who 鈥漺ants to bully other people.”

Matar also spontaneously while heading into and out of the state courtroom.

Born in the U.S. to parents who immigrated from Lebanon, Matar is a citizen of both countries. His mother has said he turned moody and withdrawn after a 2018 trip to Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based.

Rushdie was born in India, raised in Britain 鈥� where he was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II 鈥� and now is a U.S. citizen. He won the Booker Prize in 1981 for 鈥淢idnight鈥檚 Children,鈥� a magical realist novel about a personal and national journey that begins at the instant when India became independent.

But Rushdie became most famous, and notorious, for 鈥淭he Satanic Verses,鈥� particularly a passage featuring a dream sequence about the . Some Muslims saw it as blasphemous, and often-violent protests erupted against Rushdie, who was born into a Muslim family.

Khomeini’s 1989 fatwa drove Rushdie into hiding for years. Although Iran hasn’t focused in recent years on the decree, it was never rescinded. Iran’s government in the 2022 stabbing, but its Foreign Ministry’s then-spokesperson suggested Rushdie invited trouble by insulting Islam.

After 鈥淜nife,鈥� Rushdie’s memoir about the stabbing, he returned to fiction with last year’s a book of short stories and novellas. He was lifetime achievement award in November.

___

Peltz reported from New York.