Salman Rushdie’s attacker set to appear in court after stabbing author
Global News
A grand jury has indicted Hadi Matar who stabbed Salman Rushdie as the acclaimed author prepared to give a talk in western New York on Aug. 12
A grand jury has indicted the man who stabbed Salman Rushdie as the acclaimed author prepared to give a talk in western New York, county prosecutors said Thursday.
Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, is scheduled to appear on the charges at an afternoon court hearing in Chautauqua County. Matar was arrested Aug. 12 after he rushed the stage at the Chautauqua Institution, stabbing Rushdie multiple times in front of a horrified crowd.
Initial charges were filed the next day, when Matar’s court-appointed lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. The prosecutor’s office did not immediately release the new charges.
Rushdie, 75, is getting treatment in a Pennsylvania hospital for severe wounds. His literary agent, Andrew Wylie, has said Rushdie a damaged liver and severed nerves in an arm, and could lose an eye.
Rushdie’s life has been in jeopardy since 1989 when Iran’s supreme leader at the time, Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued an edict demanding his death over his novel “The Satanic Verses,” which was viewed as blasphemous by many Muslims.
A semiofficial Iranian foundation had posted a bounty of over $3 million.
Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt called the attack “preplanned.”
The author had just taken the stage at the normally tranquil lakeside retreat for a discussion of protections for writers in exile and freedom of expression when Matar jumped onstage.
Putin’s endorsement of the new nuclear deterrent policy comes on the 1,000th day after he sent troops into Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022.
Nearly 2,200 layoff notices went to workers in Washington and another 220 in South Carolina, the two states where Boeing builds commercial airliners.
The deadly haze covered monuments and high-rise buildings in the capital of New Delhi, with visibility so low that airlines warned of delays.
The death is being investigated by federal authorities but "the preliminary cause" has been ruled an accident.
The incident took place more than a month ago, on October 13, but it wasn't reported until the British tabloids got wind of the story.
Health officials said Saturday they have confirmed the first U.S. case of a new form of mpox that was first seen in eastern Congo.
Washington is easing limits on what Ukraine can strike with U.S.-made weaponry, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.
Concerns storm surges could raise water levels between one and three feet above ground level as Tropical Storm Sara makes landfall in Belize.
Air defenses could be heard engaging drones over Kyiv in the night, and a series of powerful blasts rang out across the city as the missile attack was under way in the morning.
John Kirton, head of the G20 Research Group, says the forum is the main tool countries have to prepare for the second Donald Trump presidency.