Man accused of stabbing Salman Rushdie rejects plea deal, faces longer prison term

NEW DELHI: The man accused of stabbing writer Salman Rushdie in a 2022 attack at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York on Tuesday rejected a plea deal that would have reduced his prison sentence while exposing him to a federal terrorism charge. According to the accused’s lawyer, Nathaniel Barone, Matar has been held without bail since the incident, in which he allegedly stabbed Rushdie multiple times, causing serious injuries including blindness in one eye, just as Rushdie was preparing to deliver a lecture.

The proposed deal, presented in Mayville, New York, would have required Matar, 26, to plead guilty in Chautauqua County to attempted murder, with a maximum state prison sentence reduced to 20 years from 25. Additionally, Matar would have pleaded guilty to a federal charge of attempted material support for a designated terrorist organization, which could potentially add an additional 20 years to his sentence, according to the attorneys involved.

Rushdie is called as a witness in Matar's upcoming trial, where details of the case are expected to be revealed.

Hadi Matar, who was born in the United States with dual Lebanese citizenship, reportedly experienced behavioral changes after visiting his father in Lebanon in 2018, according to his mother.

Salman Rushdie, best known for his novel The Satanic Verses, which sparked significant controversy and a fatwa against him in 1989, recounted the attack and his subsequent recovery in his memoir. Despite years in hiding due to death threats, Rushdie has since resumed his public life and continues to advocate for the safety of writers.

Rushdie wrote in his memoirs that he saw a man running toward him in the lecture hall, where he was about to speak about the importance of protecting writers. The author is on the witness list in Matar's upcoming trial.