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A 26-year-old man, Hadi Matar faces the possibility of life in prison following his arraignment in a federal court in New York, United States for attempting to assassinate controversial author, Salman Rushdie.
Matar, of Fairview, New Jersey, was arraigned on Wednesday, July 24 in connection with attempting to provide material support to Hizballah, a designated foreign terrorist organisation; engaging in an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries; and providing material support to terrorists.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) disclosed this in a statement published on its website.
Rushdie, a renowned Indian-born British-American novelist, wrote ‘The Satanic Verses’ in 1988, sparking outrage and protests among some Muslim communities due to perceived blasphemous content, particularly regarding the portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad. In 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran at the time, issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death.
US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said, “We allege that in attempting to murder Salman Rushdie in New York in 2022, Hadi Matar committed an act of terrorism in the name of Hizballah, a designated terrorist organisation aligned with the Iranian regime.
“The Justice Department will prosecute those who perpetrate violence in the name of terrorist groups and undermine the basic freedoms enshrined in our Constitution.”
According to the court documents and statements made by the government in court, between September 2020 and August 2022, Matar attempted to provide material support and resources to Hizballah by attempting to carry out a fatwa calling for the execution of Salman Rushdie, which Matar understood was endorsed by Hizballah.
The indictment further alleges that Matar attempted to kill and did in fact assault Rushdie and was motivated, in part, by a 2006 speech given by Hizballah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, in which Nasrallah endorsed the fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death, which was originally issued in 1989.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said, “The defendant attempted to carry out a fatwa endorsed by Hizballah that called for the death of Salman Rushdie — a fatwa issued in 1989 by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini.
“Violence directed at Americans for exercising their First Amendment rights will never be tolerated. The FBI will work with our partners to pursue and hold accountable those who resort to violence.”
