Man charged over attempted murder of Salman Rushdie accused of ties to Hezbollah

A court filing made last week in New York alleged that the man charged with trying to murder Salman Rushdie may have had ties to Hezbollah and provided them with "material support." 

"Between in and about September 2020… the defendant, HADI MATAR, a citizen of the United States, knowingly did attempt to provide material support and resources … to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely, Hizballah," the indictment, filed on July 17, claimed. 

Matar, 26, was charged with repeatedly stabbing Rushdie on Aug. 12, 2022 on stage at the Chautauqua Institution just as the award-winning author was about to give a lecture. Emergency responders airlifted him to a hospital in northwestern Pennsylvania, where he underwent life-saving surgery. 

Matar will finally stand trial for the attack, having refused a plea deal, and following a minor delay after the publication of Rushdie’s memoir, "Knife," that detailed his experience of the attack. He already faced charges of attempted murder and assault, and the plea deal required him to plead guilty to a federal terrorism-related charge, which had yet to be filed at the time.

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Defense attorney Nathaniel Barone, left, and Hadi Matar, 24, right, listen during an arraignment in the Chautauqua County Courthouse in Mayville, New York. (Joshua Bessex/AP Images)

Now, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Buffalo on Wednesday, Matar faces charges of attempting to support Hezbollah, the terrorist group based in Lebanon and backed by Iran. The charge includes a requirement to turn over all electronic devices should he be convicted on any of the charges alleged in the indictment. 

Authorities would have to confiscate several hard drives, a PlayStation 4, two cellphones and a laptop in addition to several knives. 

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(L-R) Kiran Desai and Salman Rushdie speak onstage at The Center for Fiction 2023 Annual Awards Benefit at Cipriani 25 Broadway on December 05, 2023 in New York City. (Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for The Center for Fiction)

Both cases will now proceed to trial separately, with jury selection for the state charges set for Oct. 15. Matar has remained in custody without bail since the attack occurred. 

The attack on Rushdie left him blind in one eye, and he suffered damage to his liver and the nerves in one of his arms. Matar claimed he had attacked Rushdie due to the fatwa put out against the author in 1989 by Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for Rushdie’s death due to the publication of the novel "The Satanic Verses."

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Hezbollah militants gather to pay their respects for one of the militant group's commanders. Ali al-Debs was killed by an Israeli air raid in Lebanon's southern city of Nabatieyh on February 16, 2024. (MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

The novel prompted worldwide protests following its publication in 1988. The book's publication led to the murder of its Japanese translator, and "others associated with it were attacked," according to "60 Minutes." 

The fatwa drove Rushdie to flee to the United Kingdom, where he lived for years before diplomatic negotiations led the Iranian state to declare the affair "completely finished" and insist that the country would not encourage anyone else to threaten Rushdie’s life.

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However, Iranian clerics and religious groups continued to urge followers to kill Rushdie, periodically raising the bounty on his head, which amounts to just shy of $4 million, according to Reuters.   

Despite admitting that he had read little of "The Satanic Verses," Matar stabbed Rushdie because the author had "attacked Islam" and, on top of that, he did not like Rushdie very much. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.