Salman Rushdie attacker found guilty of attempted murder and assault

A man charged with stabbing renowned British-Indian author Sir Salman Rushdie multiple times on a New York lecture stage has been found guilty of attempted murder and assault.

Hadi Matar, a 27-year-old man from New Jersey, now faces a potential sentence of more than 30 years in prison.

Sir Salman survived the attack, but the injuries resulted in damage to his liver, lost vision in one eye and a paralysed hand caused by nerve damage to his arm.

The jury's guilty verdict came after a two-week trial in Chautauqua County Court in western New York state, near where Matar stabbed Rushdie in August 2022 as he was delivering a lecture.

The jury also found Matar guilty of assault for wounding the interviewer, Henry Reese, who was on stage with the author. Mr Reese suffered a minor head injury during the attack.

Matar's sentencing date has been scheduled for 23 April.

During the trial, Sir Salman recalled how he had been sitting on stage at the historic Chautauqua Institute when he noticed a person rushing at him from his right-hand side.

Recalling the incident, he said he was struck by the assailant's eyes, "which were dark and seemed very ferocious".

He described how he first thought he had been punched, before realising he had been stabbed in the right jaw and neck. He was stabbed a total of 15 times, with wounds to his eye, cheek, neck, chest, torso and thigh.