Salman Rushdie responds to 25-year sentence for attacker

British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie has shared his views on the 25-year prison sentence given to the man who violently attacked him in 2022.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Monday, Rushdie stated that he was “pleased” the attacker received the maximum penalty under the law.

Attack left author blind in one eye

The assailant Hadi Matar was sentenced in a New York court for the attempted murder of Rushdie. The attack left the author blind in one eye.

Judge David Foley delivered the verdict in Mayville, near where the stabbing occurred.

Following the ruling, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt expressed satisfaction. However, Matar’s lawyer Nathaniel Barone confirmed that an appeal will be made.

The attack took place in August 2022 at the Chautauqua Institution where Rushdie was about to deliver a lecture. Matar rushed to the stage and stabbed the author multiple times. Henry Reese who is a program director aiding persecuted writers was also injured in the assault.

Rushdie later documented the event in his 2024 memoir, Knife.

Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses

The attack traces back to 1989 when Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death over alleged blasphemy in his novel The Satanic Verses.

Following the fatwa, Rushdie went into hiding under British protection. Later, he settled in New York, the United States.