Salman Rushdie stabbing suspect Hadi Matar update
Hadi Matar, who was accused of attacking writer Salman Rushdie, refuted the accusations during a scheduled court hearing on Saturday, August 13, 2022.
On Friday, August 12, Rushdie was stabbed many times while attending a gathering in New York. Hadi Matar was detained and charged in the case with attempted murder and assault.
Andy Ng is a “‍”
Andy Ngo is
@MrAndyNgo
Salman Rushdie, an author who was accused of blasphemy, is suspected of being a Muslim fanatic who has been photographed and identified. Hadi Matar, 24, a suspect, posted several times on Facebook endorsing Iran and Shia Islam.
See picture on Twitter
See picture on Twitter
See picture on Twitter
4631
1698
At a brief court proceeding on Saturday at the Chautauqua County Courthouse in Mayville, a lawyer for Matar entered a not-guilty plea. Matar, who was in handcuffs and wearing a black-and-white prison uniform, attended the session.
Hadi Matar entered a plea of not guilty, but District Attorney Jason Schmidt claimed that the 24-year-old suspect purposefully placed himself in a danger to Salman Rushdie. The author was giving a speech at the Chautauqua Institution, and Matar supposedly had a phony ID and an advance permit for the event.
The incident, according to Schmidt, was a “targeted, unprovoked, preplanned attack.”
Authorities think that a fatwa is what motivated Salman Rushdie’s attack.
Mike
Mike
@Doranimated
According to reports, Rushdie’s attacker is Hadi Matar, a Shi’ite immigrant from South Lebanon who is 24 years old. He used the name Hassan Mughniyah on his phony driver’s license (perhaps in tribute to HASSAN Nasrallah and imad MUGHNIYAH?). His Facebook page shows support for the Islamic Republic.
See picture on Twitter
See picture on Twitter
770
412
Rushdie’s murder was seen to be morally acceptable by the former Iranian president Ayatollah Khomeini in a fatwa that was published in 1989. The fatwa was issued following the release of The Satanic Verses, and it sent the author into exile for nearly ten years before he made the decision to come out of hiding once more.
Hadi Matar’s attack is thought to have been related to the fatwa, which even in the absence of state support continues to exert influence over certain segments of the populace.
Authorities have cause to assume that Hadi Matar’s beliefs are in line with Shia radicalism after investigations uncovered Matar’s interest in Iran. When Rushdie took the stage to discuss exiled authors, he was in the audience.
Jacques Guerrero
Jacques Guerrero
@jeanguerre
I heard Salman Rushdie speak at the PEN World Voices Festival three months ago. “A poem cannot stop a bullet,” he declared. A book cannot disarm a bomb. However, we are not powerless. We are able to sing the truth and expose liars. We must tell more compelling tales than the despots.
42754
9585
Additionally, according to lawyer Jason Schmidt, Matar arrived in Chautauqua fully prepared:
“He forgot his wallet at home. He carried cash and pre-paid Visa cards. He was carrying fake identification.”
Schmidt further argued against setting a bail sum for Hadi Matar by informing the judge of the Iranian fatwa declared against Salman Rushdie:
“Given that I don’t care about his finances, it is a crucial factor in determining whether to grant bail. The agenda that was followed yesterday was one that was approved and adopted by bigger parties and organizations that extend far beyond Chautauqua County’s legal jurisdiction. We run the risk of this bond being satisfied even if this court sets a million dollar bail.”
Friday is Matar’s next preliminary court date.
Mitchell Stein
Mitchell Stein
@AmichaiStein1
According to European and Middle Eastern intelligence, Hadi Matar, the 24-year-old who attacked author Salman Rushdie, had direct contact with members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on social media: “the stabbing had all the signs of a “directed” attack.”
1162
579
Salman Rushdie, according to the prosecution, was stabbed four times in the stomach and three times on the right side of his neck. A puncture wound also puts his right eye at risk of being lost.
In addition, he had a laceration to his right thigh and two puncture wounds to his chest.