Convicted Rushdie attacker said ‘Free Palestine’ as he was led out of US courtroom
Hadi Matar was convicted of the assualt and attempted murder of Satanic Verses author Rushdie
The man convicted of the assualt and attempted murder of Sir Salman Rushdie muttered “Free Palestine” as he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, it has been reported.
Hadi Matar ran onto a stage at the Chautauqua Institution in New York on August 12, 2022, and attacked Rushdie with a 10in knife as the author was about to speak to an audience.
The Satanic Verses author was left blinded in one eye as a result of the attack.
A jury took just under two hours to convict Matar, 27, after a two-week trial at a county courthouse in Mayville, and he now faces a possible 25 year long prison sentence.
But during the hearing he made no secret of his devotion to the Palestine cause saying “Free Palestine” during the proceedings on several occasions, The Times reported.
He now also faces federal terrorism charges of attempting to support the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah in the attack on Rushdie.
“We allege that in attempting to murder Salman Rushdie in New York in 2022, Hadi Matar committed an act of terrorism in the name of Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organisation aligned with the Iranian regime,” Merrick Garland, then the US attorney-general, had said.
Matar is from a Lebanese-American family, is facing claims that he was motivated by the fatwa against Rushdie, made by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989, in response to his Santanic Verses novel.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
