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Matar Terror Trial Starts, Rushdie Details 1991 Attack

7/24/2026

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Summary

Story summary

U.S. court began a terrorism trial of Hadi Matar (defendant), who pleaded not guilty while serving a 25-year sentence.
Salman Rushdie (author) testified he was slashed 15 times, lost an eye, needed a ventilator, and a knife missed his brain.
Prosecutors presented Matar’s journal, photos of Khomeini and Khamenei and a forged license to the 1989 fatwa.
Nathaniel Barone (defense attorney) said government cannot prove Matar’s intent or terrorist ties.

History

Historical Context

After the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing killed 168 people and prompted the 1997 federal trial that sentenced Timothy McVeigh to death, Congress enacted the 1996 Antiterrorism Act to tighten terrorism prosecutions. That precedent guides today’s Manhattan federal case, where prosecutors charge Hadi Matar for the 2022 assault on author Salman Rushdie, invoking the 1989 Iranian fatwa.

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Story summary

U.S. court began a terrorism trial of Hadi Matar (defendant), who pleaded not guilty while serving a 25-year sentence.
Salman Rushdie (author) testified he was slashed 15 times, lost an eye, needed a ventilator, and a knife missed his brain.
Prosecutors presented Matar’s journal, photos of Khomeini and Khamenei and a forged license to the 1989 fatwa.
Nathaniel Barone (defense attorney) said government cannot prove Matar’s intent or terrorist ties.

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