Hadi Matar, the man convicted of stabbing and nearly killing author Salman Rushdie, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the attack, the New York Times reports.
In February, Matar was convicted of second-degree attempted murder and assault for the attack. Last week, he received a 25-year sentence on the attempted murder charge and a 7-year sentence on the assault charge; he will serve both sentences concurrently.
Rushdie, the acclaimed author of novels including Midnight’s Children and The Satanic Verses, was preparing to give a lecture in Chautauqua, New York, in 2022, when Matar rushed the stage and stabbed him repeatedly. The attack cost Rushdie the vision in one eye and the use of one hand.
He wrote a memoir about the assault, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, which was published by Random House in 2024. The book, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, is being developed as a documentary film directed by Alex Gibney.
Rushdie testified at Matar’s trial earlier this year, saying, “I was aware of somebody wearing black clothes—very dark clothes, anyway—and a black Covid face mask. I was very struck by his eyes, which were very dark. Very soon afterwards, I saw a large quantity of blood pouring out onto my clothes.”
Matar did not testify at his trial. Shortly after his arrest, he told the New York Post, “When I heard he survived, I was surprised, I guess.” He declined to say whether the attack was connected to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s 1989 fatwa against Rushdie, in which the leader of Iran called for the author’s death over The Satanic Verses, which he considered blasphemous.
“I respect the ayatollah,” Matar said. “I think he’s a great person. That’s as far as I will say about that.”
Matar is also facing federal terrorism charges in connection with the attack. There is currently no trial date for those charges.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
