Jury Quickly Convicts Man in Salman Rushdie Attack

A jury in upstate New York took less than two hours to convict Hadi Matar of attempted murder in the 2022 knife attack against Salman Rushdie. The 27-year-old faces up to 32 years in prison at his April sentencing, reports the New York Times. Matar also was convicted of assault for wounding a man who was on stage with Rushdie during an event at the Chautauqua Institution, reports the AP. Matar, from New Jersey, stabbed the 77-year-old Rushdie multiple times, leaving the acclaimed author blind in one eye.

In his closing argument, District Attorney Jason Schmidt played a video of the attack in slow motion for the jury. "I want you to look at the unprovoked nature of this attack," Schmidt said. "I want you to look at the targeted nature of the attack. There were a lot of people around that day but there was only one person who was targeted." Rushdie himself testified in the case about what he endured. ("It occurred to me that I was dying," he told the court.)