The trial against the man accused of attempting to murder author Salman Rushdie in a stabbing attack in western New York got underway on Tuesday, with officials saying Rushdie is expected to testify in the coming days.
While Hadi Matar, 27, was detained at the scene by bystanders and the attack was caught on video, he still rejected a plea deal and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Jury selection began Tuesday in Chautauqua County Court in Mayville, where five jurors were seated during the first day of screening.
Once the trial begins, jurors will be shown footage of the attack, as well as photos and other documentation. Prosecutors have said there’s little doubt they can prove Matar’s guilt.
“This isn’t a back alley event that occurs unwitnessed in a dark alley,” Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said following a pretrial hearing. “This is something that was recorded, it was witnessed live by thousands of people.”
Matar was offered a plea deal last summer that would’ve seen him spend 20 years in prison for attempted murder and 20 additional years behind bars on a federal terrorism charge.
At trial, Matar now faces up to 25 years for attempted murder, seven years for assault and potentially life in prison on the federal charge, for which he will be tried separately.
“That’s not what this is about. It’s about due process,” Matar’s defense attorney, Nathaniel Barone, said when asked why his client would not take the plea deal. “It’s about receiving a fair trial … If someone wants to exercise those rights, they’re entitled to do that.”
Rushdie, 77, spent years in hiding after the Iranian government issued a fatwa calling for his murder in 1989. The kill order was in response to his book “The Satanic Verses,” and helped turn him into a free speech icon across Western Europe and the U.S.
Matar was allegedly motivated by the fatwa when he rushed a stage where Rushdie was speaking in Chautauqua County on Aug. 12, 2022, and stabbed the author multiple times, blinding him in one eye.
Because of the extensive evidence against Matar in the case, Chautauqua County prosecutors have said they don’t expect to bring up the fatwa at trial.
“From my standpoint, this is a localized event. It’s a stabbing event. It’s fairly straightforward,” Schmidt said. “I don’t really see a need to get into motive evidence, whether that’s applicable or not applicable and what that consists of. I’d like to avoid all of that.”
Once jury selection is complete, the trial is expected to take up to a week and a half.