The Islamist accused of stabbing Salman Rushdie has been given hours to decide whether to postpone his trial by demanding a copy of the author's forthcoming book about the attack that almost killed him.
Hadi Matar was abducted from the stage at a book fair in upstate New York after the “Satanic Verses” author was repeatedly stabbed in August 2022.
Matar, 26, was due to stand trial earlier this month over the attack that left Rushdie on a ventilator and cost him an eye. Jury selection began on January 8th.
But Chautauqua County Judge David Foley ruled that Matar was entitled to see a copy of the memoir “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,” even though it isn't scheduled to be released until April 16.
“It’s not just the book,” said defense attorney Nathaniel Barone, “Every little note that Rushdie wrote down is mine.”
The author Salman Rushdie described his 256-page memoir after the attack in August 2022 as “a way to come to grips with what happened and respond to violence with art.”
Hadi Matar, 26, who was born in California to Lebanese parents, has been held without bail in the Chautauqua County Jail since his arrest at Chautauqua Institution
Stewards and spectators rushed to help the seriously injured Rushdie as Matar was dragged off the stage just seconds after the attack
“Every discussion, every recording, everything he did regarding this book.”
Rushdie described the 256-page memoir as “a way to come to grips with what happened and respond to violence with art.”
The 76-year-old writer was flown to the hospital after the attack at Chautauqua Institution with 15 wounds to his chest and torso and three wounds to his neck.
After his attacker stormed the stage, he suffered liver damage, severed nerves in his arm and the loss of his right eye.
Rushdie's account of the attack is scheduled to be published by Penguin Random House in April
“Knife is a poignant book and a reminder of the power of words to make sense of the unthinkable,” said its publisher Nihar Malaviya.
“We are honored to publish it and amazed by Salman’s determination to tell his story and return to the work he loves.”
Matar, who was born in California to Lebanese parents, was dragged from the stage by guards and has been held without bail in the Chautauqua County Jail since then.
The author lived in isolation and under 24-hour surveillance, or years after his 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses” prompted Iran's theocratic regime to issue a “fatwa” on his life.
Matar was found with a false driver's license in the name of two Hezbollah commanders when he was arrested at Chautauqua Institution after the attack on Rushdie.
His mother, Silvana Fardos, told that her son turned from a popular, loving son into a moody religious zealot after he killed her ex-husband in the Hezbollah-controlled Lebanese town of Yaroun, a mile from the Israeli border , had visited.
“I expected him to come back motivated, finish school, graduate and get a job,” she said.
“Instead he locked himself in the basement.” “He had changed a lot, he didn't say anything to me or his sisters for months.”
Matar denied acting under orders when he was arrested over the near-fatal attack on 76-year-old Rusdhie, who lost an eye and the use of a hand.
“I don't like the person.” “I don't think he's a very good person,” he told interviewers.
“He is someone who attacked Islam, he attacked their faith, the belief systems.”
District Attorney Jason Schmidt said Rushdie's representatives denied the prosecutor's request for a copy of the manuscript, citing intellectual property rights.
But he downplayed the book's relevance to the upcoming trial, since the attack was witnessed live by a large audience and Rushdie himself was able to testify.
Judge Foley gave Matar and his attorney until a preliminary meeting at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday to decide whether they want to delay the trial until they have the book in hand, either in advance from the publisher or after publication.
Barone said after court that he favored a delay but would consult with Matar.
Matar pictured six days after the attack with his defender Nathaniel Barone
Paramedics tried to compress Rushdie's wounds after he was stabbed more than 18 times
Rushdie was flown to hospital where he was placed on a ventilator following the attack on August 12 last year and spent six weeks in care before being discharged
Hadi Matar, 25, returned from a four-week stay in Lebanon a religious fanatic, his mother told
Matar's Lebanese-born mother, Silvana Fardos, moved from California to a home in New Jersey with their three children after separating from his father (above).
Rushdie told The New Yorker that in his first interview after the attack, he worked hard to avoid “blame and bitterness” and was determined to “look forward, not backward.”
“It doesn't feel like a third person to me.” I think when someone sticks a knife in you, it's a first-person story. “This is a first-person story,” he said.
Tehran denied any involvement in the attack on Rushdie, but added: “We do not believe that anyone deserves blame, censure or even condemnation, except…” [Rushdie] himself and his supporters.'
The author, who was made a Companion of Honor by the king in May last year, has blamed Matar solely for the attack on him and told the BBC he was not sure he could “be bothered” to join him to take him to court when he comes for testing.