Jury convicts Hadi Matar in 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie

Published Jul 29, 09:13 PM UTC

On July 29, 2026, a federal jury in Buffalo convicted Hadi Matar on all charges, including engaging in an act of transnational terrorism, for the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie. Matar, 28, already serving a 25-year state sentence for attempted murder, now faces a potential life sentence. The attack occurred as Rushdie was about to speak on writers' safety; he was stabbed 15 times, losing sight in his right eye. The trial highlighted the decades-old death threat against Rushdie over his novel 'The Satanic Verses'.