London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Salman Rushdie stabbing suspect charged with attempted murder

Salman Rushdie stabbing suspect charged with attempted murder

The man suspected of stabbing Salman Rushdie at an event in the United States on Friday has been charged with attempted murder.

Hadi Matar has been remanded in custody without bail after pleading not guilty, said the prosecutor in Chautauqua County, New York State.

Mr Matar is accused of running onto the stage and attacking Mr Rushdie and an interviewer at the event held by a local educational centre.

The writer is in a critical condition.

Mr Rushdie, 75, has faced years of death threats for his novel The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims see as blasphemous.

Police detained Mr Matar from Fairview, New Jersey, shortly after the attack at the Chautauqua Institution.

Appearing in court on Saturday afternoon, the suspect wore a facemask and prison uniform before entering his plea of not guilty.

"This is the very early stage of what will invariably be a protracted legal process," District Attorney Jason Schmidt said in a statement.

There has been an outpouring of support for Mr Rushdie, with the attack condemned as an assault on freedom of expression.

Later on Saturday, President Joe Biden said in a statement that he was "shocked and saddened" by the "vicious attack".

Mr Rushdie had refused to be "intimidated or silenced" in his career, and stood for "essential, universal ideals", Mr Biden added.

The writer was stabbed at least 10 times - including in the face, neck and abdomen, which damaged his liver, authorities said.

He has been put on a ventilator, is unable to speak, and may lose one eye, his agent said.

The interviewer who was with Mr Rushdie, Henry Reese, suffered a minor head injury. Mr Reese is the co-founder of a non-profit organisation that provides sanctuary to writers exiled under threat of persecution.

No motive has yet been confirmed by police, who said on Friday that they wanted to examine a backpack and electronic devices found at the centre.

A review of Mr Matar's social media accounts has suggested he is sympathetic to the causes of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), NBC News reported.

The IRGC is a major military and political force in Iran - however, no link has been definitively established.

Mr Matar was born in the US to parents who had emigrated from Lebanon, a Lebanese official told the Associated Press news agency.

Two security officials were on duty at the centre at the time of the attack - one making the subsequent arrest.

However, some of the visitors have questioned why security was not tighter for a man with a bounty of more than $3m (£2.5m) on his head.

Members of the audience said the venue lacked basic security measures like bag checks and metal detectors.

Like other people planning to attend the author's lecture, Mr Matar had obtained a pass to enter the Chautauqua Institution grounds, the group's president said.


Fatwa never rescinded


Indian-born novelist Mr Rushdie shot to fame with Midnight's Children in 1981, which went on to sell over one million copies in the UK alone.

But his fourth book, published in 1988 - The Satanic Verses - forced him into hiding for nearly 10 years.

The surrealist, post-modern novel sparked outrage among some Muslims, who considered its content to be blasphemous - insulting to a religion or god - and was banned in some countries.

A year after the book's release, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini called for Mr Rushdie's execution. He offered a $3m (£2.5m) reward in a fatwa - a legal decree issued by an Islamic religious leader.

The bounty over Mr Rushdie's head remains active, and although Iran's government has distanced itself from Mr Khomeini's decree, a quasi-official Iranian religious foundation added a further $500,000 to the reward in 2012.

There has been no reaction from the Iranian government to Mr Rushdie's stabbing. Iranian media described him as an apostate - someone who has abandoned or denied his faith - in their coverage.

Mr Rushdie, a British-American citizen, has become a vocal advocate for freedom of expression, defending his work on several occasions. He has also continued to write, with his next work due out in 2023.


Watch: Video shows the moments after author Salman Rushdie was attacked


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×