Novelist Salman Rushdie recounted on Tuesday the harrowing moment when a knife-wielding assailant rushed onto the stage and attempted to take his life in a violent attack that resulted in him losing sight in one eye.
The author of “The Satanic Verses” testified at the trial of his alleged assailant, 23-year-old American-Lebanese Hadi Matar, stating that Matar “was stabbing and slashing” at him.
“I became aware of this individual charging at me from my right side,” Rushdie explained, recalling the incident that occurred during an arts event in New York state in August 2022.
“I only caught a glimpse of him at the very last moment.”
Rushdie described the attacker, who was wearing a Covid mask, saying, “I was very struck by his eyes, which were dark and appeared quite ferocious to me.”
He detailed the experience of being stabbed in the eye, calling it “intensely painful,” and added, “I was screaming because of the pain,” noting that he was left in a “lake of blood.”
Matar’s defense team has attempted to prevent witnesses from describing Rushdie as a victim of persecution in light of the 1989 fatwa issued by Iran, which called for his assassination due to alleged blasphemy in “The Satanic Verses.”
Matar is charged with stabbing Rushdie approximately ten times with a six-inch knife. As he was escorted into the courtroom, he proclaimed, “Palestine will be free,” and showed no reaction when Rushdie began to testify.
Rushdie appeared in a dark suit, wearing distinctive glasses with one lens polarized to conceal one eye.
Prosecutor District Attorney Jason Schmidt recounted how Rushdie had just taken his seat in an amphitheater filled with around 1,000 attendees.
“(Matar) forcefully and swiftly plunged the knife into Mr. Rushdie repeatedly,” Schmidt stated.
Staff and guests intervened to confront the assailant.
According to the FBI, the fatwa was supported by Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite militant group, and Matar is facing additional federal charges related to terrorism.
Matar previously mentioned to the media that he had only read two pages of Rushdie’s book but felt the author had “attacked Islam.”
Rushdie, a 77-year-old British-American residing in New York, sustained multiple stab wounds before bystanders managed to restrain Matar.
Jordan Steves, a venue employee, testified on Monday about how he charged at the attacker “with my right shoulder with as much force as I could manage” to assist in subduing him.
When asked to identify the assailant, he pointed to Matar, who was seated just a few feet away in the ornate courtroom.
Deborah Moore Kushmaul, a colleague of Steves, recounted how she retrieved the discarded knife and handed it to the police.
“I could see blood, and I noticed bystanders piling on. Our audience, many of whom were elderly, were screaming,” she recalled.
Schmidt indicated that Matar came “dangerously close” to killing Rushdie, noting that the author was stabbed through the right eye with such intensity that it severed the optical nerve.
Additionally, Rushdie’s Adam’s apple was partially lacerated, and his liver and small intestine were penetrated.
His blood pressure was critically low due to significant blood loss, the prosecutor stated.
Lynn Schaffer, one of Matar’s attorneys, remarked on Monday that the prosecution intends to frame the case as straightforward.
However, she cautioned, “Consider the assumptions made by the police witnesses. They have preconceived notions about Mr. Matar that influence their investigative approach.”
After living in seclusion in London for a decade following the fatwa, Rushdie had a relatively normal life in New York for the past 20 years until the attack occurred.
Last year, he released a memoir titled “Knife,” in which he detailed his near-fatal experience.
Iran has denied any connection to the assailant, asserting that Rushdie alone is responsible for the incident.
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