Cumberland Times-News
·Jul 2026
Terrorism trial opens in stabbing of author Salman Rushdie
Federal prosecutors opened a terrorism trial against Hadi Matar, who was already convicted in state court of attempting to murder Salman Rushdie during a 2022 lecture in western New York. The federal case focuses on Matar’s alleged motive and whether the attack constituted an act of transnational terrorism. Prosecutors said Matar spent years researching Rushdie’s whereabouts, viewed the stabbing as part of a religiously framed struggle, and had communicated or researched material related to Iran’s longstanding fatwa against the author. Rushdie survived after suffering severe injuries, including blindness in one eye, and has since returned to writing and public life. Matar has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, and the court must determine whether he will face a potential life sentence.