Hadi Matar, a 28-year-old US man already serving 25 years for attempting to kill Sir Salman Rushdie, has been convicted of additional terror charges, including providing support to Hezbollah, a designated terrorist group. The conviction was handed down in a New York federal court on Wednesday, with prosecutors arguing that Matar's actions were motivated by Iran's 1989 fatwa calling for Rushdie's death. Matar was convicted of engaging in transnational terrorism and providing material support to Hezbollah, and could now face life in prison in addition to his existing sentence. Sir Salman Rushdie testified during the trial, describing the attack and crediting a firefighter with saving his life.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Hadi Matar, a US man already serving 25 years in prison, has been convicted of additional charges, including providing material support to the terrorist group Hezbollah, in a New York federal court. The conviction comes after prosecutors argued that Matar was motivated by a 1989 fatwa issued by Iran's religious leader calling for the death of author Sir Salman Rushdie. The jury found Matar guilty of engaging in an act of transnational terrorism and providing material support to Hezbollah, which is designated as a terrorist group by the US and other countries. Prosecutors claimed that Matar had plotted the attack against Sir Salman Rushdie for two years, beginning after a 2006 speech by the then-leader of Hezbollah calling for enforcement of the fatwa.
Written for “Salman Rushdie Attack Conviction” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The language used is generally neutral, but some phrases such as 'the defendant decided no one was going to do it, so he had to do it' from the Assistant US Attorney suggest a slightly critical tone towards Matar's actions, which leans slightly left-leaning.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score -0.30 for article 44 · logged 2026-07-30
- Published
A US man who is already serving 25 years in prison for attempting to kill Sir Salman Rushdie has been convicted of additional charges, including providing material support to a terrorist group.
asserted
who → publish → group
Hadi Matar was convicted in a New York federal court on Wednesday of providing assistance to Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed faction which is designated as a terrorist group by the US, UK and many other countries.
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which → convict → US
Prosecutors argued that Matar had been motivated by a fatwa, a religious edict, issued by Iran's religious leader in 1989 for Sir Salman's death.
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Matar → argue → death
The award-winning author testified during the trial, describing the attack and crediting a firefighter with saving his life by providing medical care.
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author → win → care
The jury convicted Matar of engaging in an act of transnational terrorism and providing material support to Hezbollah.
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jury → convict → Hezbollah
During the trial in the New York city of Buffalo, prosecutors argued that he had been motivated by a 2006 speech by the then-leader of Hezbollah, calling for the fatwa against Sir Salman to be enforced, and that he had plotted the attack for two years.
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he → argue → years
"The defendant decided no one was going to do it, so he had to do it," Assistant US Attorney Timothy Lynch said in his closing statement, according to The Buffalo News, external.
"
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Lynch → decide → News
The defendant is the one who answered that call."
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who → answer → call
They also played videos made by Matar, 28, and interviewed Sir Salman on the witness stand about being stabbed 15 times, including to his cheek, chest, eye, neck and thigh.
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They → play → cheek
"I was on the stage, lying down, with an enormous pool of blood all around me," he testified, adding: "It was an enormous and expansive lake of blood."
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It → lie → blood
He also lifted the darkened lens on his glasses to reveal the wound to his eye, which has left him partially blinded, saying the attacker's knife had come "within millimetres from my brain".
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knife → lift → brain
Defence attorneys argued that Matar's attack had not been motivated by terrorism, and questioned the author about whether he should have expected a backlash to his controversial 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.
"I don't believe the book is on trial," Sir Salman responded.
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Salman → argue → trial
Matar is already serving a 25-year sentence after being convicted of attempted murder by a state court in 2025.
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Matar → serve → 2025
He could now face life in prison in the federal conviction.
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He → face → conviction
Sir Salman's novel, inspired by the life of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, sparked outrage among some Muslims, who considered its content to be blasphemous.
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content → inspire → Muslims
He faced countless death threats and was forced into hiding for nine years after Iran's religious leader issued the fatwa.
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leader → face → fatwa
The British-Indian novelist later detailed his experience and long road to recovery in a memoir called Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder.
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novelist → detail → Murder
Last year, he released his first fiction in years, titled The Eleventh Hour.
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he → release → years
