Hadi Matar, 24, was accused of injuring 75-year-old Rushdie in New York last week
Article Author:
Mayville — novelist Salman last week in western New York The man charged with stabbing Rushdie was taken into custody without bail Thursday after pleading not guilty to attempted second-degree murder and assault charges.
Hadi Matar, 24, died Friday just before the author of "The Satanic Verse" gave a lecture on stage at an educational retreat near Lake Erie. Accused of injuring Rushdie. Rushdie was hospitalized with serious injuries in what writers and politicians around the world condemned as an attack on free expression.
Matar was indicted for attempted second-degree murder and, on the basis of an indictment returned earlier in the day from a grand jury, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. He was arraigned in Kuah County Court. His one count for second-degree assault.
He has been in prison since his arrest, wearing his gray striped jumpsuit and his white COVID-19 face mask, with his hands and feet bound. rice field.
Judge David Foley orders Matar to stay out of contact with Rushdie, defense attorney issues temporary hush order barring parties from discussing case in media He said he would consider the defense's request to release Matar on bail.
Matar's next court appearance was he scheduled for 22 September.
It came 33 years after he issued a fatwa, or religious edict, calling on Muslims to assassinate Rushdie a few months later. Some Muslims viewed passages about the Prophet Muhammad as blasphemy.
Born in India to a Muslim Kashmiri family, Rushdie lived with a bounty on his head and under the protection of British police he has been hiding for nine years.
In 1998, President Mohammad Khatami's reformist Iranian government distanced itself from the fatwa, saying the threat to Rushdie was over.
But then the multi-million dollar bounty was increased and the fatwa was never lifted. Khomeini's successor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was suspended from Twitter in 2019 after he said the fatwa against Rushdie was "irrevocable."
In an interview published in the New York Post on Wednesday, Matar said he admired Khomeini, but did not say whether he was inspired by the fatwa. He said he had "read a few pages" of "The Satanic Verse" and said he had seen the author's YouTube video of him.
"I don't really like him," Matar said of Rushdie, as reported in the Post.
On Monday, Iran's foreign ministry said Tehran should not be blamed for the attack. Police said Matar is believed to have acted alone.
Matar is a Shia Muslim and was born in California to a family of Lebanese origin.
According to prosecutors, he went to the Chautauqua Institute, about 12 miles (19 km) from Lake Erie, where he purchased a pass for Rushdie's lectures.
Witnesses said there were no apparent security checks at the lecture venue and that Mattar did not open his mouth as he attacked the author.
Rushdie was severely injured in the attack, likely suffering nerve damage in his arm, liver damage and the loss of an eye, his agent said.
You'll get the latest headlines, stories, opinions and photos of Toronto His Sun straight from the newsroom to your inbox at noon.
Thank you for registering.
Welcome sending his email. If you don't see it, please check your spam folder.
The next issue of Your Midday Sun will arrive in your inbox soon.