Trial postponed for man accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie at Chautauqua Institution

A.J. Rao, Erie Times-News
·2 min read
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A judge has postponed the trial date for the New Jersey man accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie in Chautauqua, New York.

Jury selection for the trial of Hadi Matar, 26, was originally scheduled to begin Monday, Jan. 8.

However, Matar’s attorney requested during a pre-trial conference Tuesday that Matar was entitled to obtain the manuscript of Rushdie’s upcoming memoir prior to beginning trial, according to Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt.

The memoir, entitled “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,” is scheduled to be released in April.

Chautauqua County Public Defender Nathaniel Barone, who is representing Matar, is expected to subpoena the manuscript, as written or recorded statements about the attack made by any witness are considered potential evidence, according to a report from the Associated Press.

A new trial date has not been set.

Hadi Matar, 24, center, arrives for his arraignment in the Chautauqua County Courthouse in Mayville, N.Y., on Aug. 13, 2022. At far left is defense attorney Nathaniel Barone. Matar who is accused of carrying out a stabbing attack against “Satanic Verses” author Salman Rushdie, has entered a not-guilty plea on charges of attempted murder and assault. An attorney for Matar entered the plea on his behalf during the arraignment hearing.

Matar was apprehended on Aug. 12, 2022, after authorities say he rushed the stage of the Chautauqua Institution's amphitheater and stabbed Rushdie, 76, and injured another speaker, Henry Reese, 74.

Prosecutors argue that Matar's attack was not random but motivated by the fatwa, or death threat, issued by Iran's leadership against Rushdie over the author's 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses."

Matar faces charges of second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault. He’s pleaded not guilty to both charges and has been remanded to Chautauqua County Jail.

Rushdie underwent surgery at UPMC Hamot in Erie. Reese, who suffered a minor facial injury, was released from an Erie hospital the day of the attack.

Rushdie, who lost an eye in the attack, has made public appearances since the attack, delivering a video message to the British Book Awards on May 15 and then speaking in person at the PEN America’s literary gala in New York on May 18.

Schmidt said Rushdie is on his witness list to potentially testify at the trial.

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on X @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Trial postponed for man accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie