The man charged with stabbing Salman Rushdie is going on trial
Entertainment
Five jurors were seated during the first day of screening
MAYVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — In 2022, Salman Rushdie was about to deliver a lecture before a live audience in western New York when a man ran towards him and plunged a knife into the author’s hand as he raised it in self-defense.
“After that there are many blows, to my neck, to my chest, to my eye, everywhere,” Rushdie recalled in a memoir that followed. “I feel my legs give way, and I fall.”
In the coming weeks, Rushdie is expected to return to the same New York county to recount the experience as one of the first witnesses in the trial of the man charged with wielding the knife that day, Hadi Matar.
Jury selection got underway Tuesday. Matar, 27, of Fairview, New Jersey, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault.
Five jurors were seated during the first day of screening, which was scheduled to continue Wednesday.
Under different circumstances, Rushdie’s book, which details his account of that day and his recovery, might offer important evidence in the Aug. 12, 2022, attack that left the 77-year-old blind in his right eye and his hand permanently damaged.
But “this isn’t a back alley event that occurs unwitnessed in a dark alley,” said Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt following a pretrial hearing. “This is something that was recorded, it was witnessed live by thousands of people.”
Jurors will be shown video of the attack, as well as photos and documentation, and an estimated 15 witnesses are expected to take the stand. Judge David Foley said once jury selection is complete, the trial would take up to a week and a half.
Matar’s lawyer, Nathaniel Barone, has not explained how he plans to defend his client and has clapped back at critics who question why Matar did not take a plea deal.
“That’s not what this is about. It’s about due process,” Barone said. “It’s about receiving a fair trial ... If someone wants to exercise those rights, they’re entitled to do that.”
