Hadi Matar, who attacked Salman Rushdie onstage in 2022, is set for sentencing after being convicted of attempted murder. Matar expressed disdain for Rushdie, claiming the novelist had attacked Islam, which motivated his actions. During the trial, his lawyer contended that prosecutors failed to sufficiently prove criminal intent for a murder conviction, arguing for a lesser assault charge. Matar's actions occurred at a literary festival promoting safety for writers, underscoring the ongoing risks they face. His sentencing in Chautauqua County is imminent as the case highlights significant cultural tensions around freedom of expression and religious beliefs.
I don't like the person. I don't think he's a very good person, Matar said about Rushdie in the interview with the Post. I don't like him. I don't like him very much. He's someone who attacked Islam, he attacked their beliefs, the belief systems.
During the two-week trial, the defence lawyer Andrew Brautigan argued that prosecutors had not proved beyond reasonable doubt that Matar...had the necessary criminal intent to kill needed for a conviction of attempted murder.
Matar claimed that Rushdie had attacked Islam...the 27-year-old told the New York Post that he had traveled from his home in New Jersey...because he disliked the novelist.
The Chautauqua county court sentencing hearing will take place three miles from where Matar attacked Rushdie during an address at a literary festival on the theme of home and keeping writers safe from harm.
Collection
[
|
...
]