Rushdie attacker indicted on terrorism charges

The man accused of trying to kill the author Salman Rushdie has been charged with terrorism for allegedly acting on behalf of Hezbollah, according to documents unsealed Wednesday.

This is the first time the United States has so clearly singled out Lebanon's powerful Iranian-backed movement over the attack on Rushdie.

Hadi Matar, a 26-year-old American of Lebanese descent, was already charged by the state of New York for the 2022 stabbing attack.

He has now been indicted by a grand jury on three counts that include attempting to provide material to support a foreign terrorist organization, according to the indictment dated July 17 but not unsealed until now.

In August 2022 Rushdie, now 77, lost his sight in his right eye after the attack by a knife-wielding assailant who jumped on stage at an arts gathering in New York state. Rushdie was stabbed about 10 times.

The Indian-born author, a naturalized American based in New York, had faced death threats since his 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses" was declared blasphemous by Iran's supreme leader.

In 1989, that leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or religious edict, calling on Muslims anywhere in the world to kill Rushdie.

Hezbollah endorsed the fatwa, the FBI said in a statement Wednesday.

"We allege that in attempting to murder Salman Rushdie in New York in 2022, Hadi Matar committed an act of terrorism in the name of Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organization aligned with the Iranian regime," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a separate statement.

- Act of terrorism -

Between September 2020 and the summer of the attack, Matar sought to provide material support to Hezbollah by trying to carry out the fatwa against Rushdie, the Justice Department said.

The other two counts in the indictment charge Matar with engaging in an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries and providing material support to terrorists.

"The defendant attempted to carry out a fatwa endorsed by Hezbollah that called for the death of Salman Rushdie," said FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Hezbollah is classified as a terrorist organization by countries including the United States, those of the European Union, Britain and most members of the Arab League.

Since the war in Gaza broke out in October, Hezbollah has traded almost daily fire with Israel from southern Lebanon, prompting fears of a broader regional conflict.

- 'Attacked Islam' -

Matar is awaiting trial at the state level in New York on charges including attempted murder and assault. He has pleaded not guilty, and could face a sentence of up to 25 years if convicted.

US media reports say the trial could start October 15.

Matar has told the New York Post newspaper that he had only read two pages of Rushdie's novel but believed he had "attacked Islam."

The award-winning author was stabbed in the neck and abdomen at the New York literary conference before attendees and guards subdued the assailant.

Rushdie had lived in seclusion in London for the first decade after the fatwa was issued, but for the past 20 years he lived a relatively normal life in New York.

This year, Rushdie published a memoir called "Knife" in which he recounted the near death experience.

In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" program in April, Rushdie told how one of the surgeons who saved his life had said: "First you were really unlucky and then you were really lucky."

"I said, 'What's the lucky part?' and he said, 'Well, the lucky part is that the man who attacked you had no idea how to kill a man with a knife,'" Rushdie said.