Testimony in trial of man accused of trying to kill Salman Rushdie heads into 2nd day Testimony is set to continue Tuesday in the trial of the man charged with stabbing famed author Salman Rushdie in a frenzied knife attack on a western New York stage.
Jurors in the trial of Hadi Matar, 27, on Monday heard from staffers at the arts institution where Rushdie was set to give a speech in August 2022, when authorities say the Fairview, New Jersey man attacked the author on stage and stabbed him more than a dozen times.
Schmidt has said discussing Matar’s motive will be unnecessary in the state trial, given the attack was seen by the live audience that was present to hear Rushdie speak.
They are unlikely, however, to hear about a fatwa issued by the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for Rushdie’s death, according to District Attorney Jason Schmidt.
Rushdie, the author of “Midnight’s Children” and “Victory City,” spent years in hiding after Khomeini announced the fatwa in 1989 following publication of the novel “The Satanic Verses,” which some Muslims consider blasphemous.
