Hadi Matar has been found guilty on federal terrorism charges in connection with the August 2022 stabbing of acclaimed author Salman Rushdie, who was attacked while taking the stage at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. The conviction marks a significant legal milestone in a case that drew international attention and raised broad concerns about the safety of writers and public intellectuals.

Rushdie, whose 1988 novel The Satanic Verses led to a fatwa calling for his death issued by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, survived the attack but sustained severe injuries including the loss of sight in one eye and damage to his liver and nerves. Matar, a New Jersey resident, rushed the stage and stabbed Rushdie multiple times before being subdued by bystanders and security personnel.

Federal prosecutors argued that Matar carried out the attack in support of a foreign terrorist organization, connecting the assault to the decades-old Iranian death sentence that had been placed on Rushdie. Matar had previously been convicted on state charges of attempted murder and assault in February 2024, for which he received a maximum sentence. The federal terrorism conviction now exposes him to additional and potentially lengthier incarceration.

The case has been closely watched by free speech advocates and literary communities worldwide, who viewed the attack as a direct assault on the principles of artistic expression and intellectual freedom. Rushdie has continued to write and speak publicly since the attack, including publishing a memoir about his recovery.