Hadi Matar, the 28-year-old, declined to testify or call any witnesses in his federal terrorism trial on Tuesday, according to court proceedings. His lawyer, Nathaniel Barone, told the court, 'At this time, the defense rests.' Both the prosecution and defense have rested their cases, and the trial is expected to go to the jury as soon as Wednesday.
Matar, who has pleaded not guilty to federal charges including engaging in an act of transnational terrorism, was convicted on state-level attempted murder charges. He is currently serving a 25-year state prison sentence. If convicted in the federal case, he faces a potential life sentence.
Salman Rushdie testified last week about the August 2022 attack, during which he was stabbed 15 times at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, just before he was to give a talk on writers' safety. The attack left him blind in one eye. Henry Reese and other spectators aided Rushdie and restrained the attacker, according to testimony.
There’s no facts. There’s no hard evidence.
Matar's lawyer, Nathaniel Barone, argued for dismissal of the case, stating, 'There’s no facts. There’s no hard evidence.' A judge declined Barone's request to dismiss the case. Matar also did not testify in his 2025 state court trial.
Prosecutors contend that Matar was acting upon the 1989 fatwa issued by former Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which called for Rushdie’s death over his novel 'The Satanic Verses.' Iran’s government has denied any involvement in the 2022 stabbing. Matar initially gave authorities a fake driver's license but later disclosed his real name to a state trooper.
According to prosecutors, Matar began researching Rushdie’s whereabouts in 2020. In private notes, he wrote that 'we need to kill him ASAP' and expressed a desire to 'become a warrior and just get it over with.'