Salman Rushdie, blinded in one eye, testifies at federal trial of attacker accused of supporting Hezbollah

Novelist Salman Rushdie testified Thursday at the federal terrorism trial of the man who tried to kill him in a knife attack at a New York cultural center in 2022.

Hadi Matar, a 28-year-old Lebanese American, was sentenced last year to 25 years in prison by a New York state court for the attempted murder, which left Rushdie blind in one eye. He is now standing trial on federal terrorism charges in Buffalo, New York.

Prosecutors allege Matar was motivated by a fatwa issued in 1989 by then-Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini after Rushdie's depiction of a fictionalized Prophet Muhammad in his novel "The Satanic Verses."

They also accuse Matar of supporting Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese movement that the United States designates as a terrorist organization, after investigators found materials linked to the group at his home.

Asked Thursday whether he believed Matar was motivated by the fatwa, Rushdie replied: "I had no knowledge of that. I have my suspicions," according to U.S. media.

Rushdie lived in seclusion in London for a decade after the fatwa was issued but had lived relatively normally in New York for the past 20 years before the attack.

He testified for nearly an hour about the assault, during which Matar allegedly stabbed him about 10 times with a six-inch blade as Rushdie was preparing to speak at a conference on free speech.

Matar's defense lawyers argued he did not act on behalf of any terrorist organization, even if he was angered by what they described as the blasphemous nature of "The Satanic Verses."

If convicted, Matar faces a possible life sentence.