Hadi Matar
The trial for the man accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie has been adjourned to await a decision on moving the trial by the State Appellate Court.
The Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office sent out a statement saying the Appellate Division issued a stay of the trial on Friday, October 11. Chautauqua County Public Defender Ned Barone had filed a change of venue motion which would move the trial outside Chautauqua County.
Jury selection for the trial for Hadi Matar was supposed to begin this past Tuesday. This is the second time the trial has been delayed with the last time being in January so that manuscripts related to a memoir about the August 2022 assault could be subpoenaed.
Matar is accused of attacking Rushdie on August 12, 2022 just before the author was to give a lecture at Chautauqua Institution.
He has been charged with second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault in that incident.
Matar has also been charged in U.S. District Court with attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization, engaging in an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries and providing material support to terrorists.
If convicted in the U.S. District Court case, Matar faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Leave a Reply