A New York jury has found Hadi Matar, 28, guilty of federal terrorism charges related to his 2022 knife attack on novelist Salman Rushdie. Matar, who is already serving a 25-year prison sentence for attempting to murder Rushdie during a speaking event in New York that left the author partially blind, could now face life imprisonment.

After two hours of deliberations on Wednesday, July 30th, 2026, the jury convicted Matar on all charges, including attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In a statement following the verdict, John Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, said, “His brutal attack on Mr Rushdie during a peaceful speaking event is a chilling reminder of the global reach of Iranian terrorism,” adding that “justice has been done.”

Salman Rushdie has recounted his experience of the stabbing in his memoir, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder.

Sources