Hadi Matar, a 26-year-old young Lebanese-American, was arraigned on Wednesday in federal court charged with “attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization; engaging in an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries; and providing material support to terrorists” according to a statement issued by the American justice department on Wednesday.
The assailant had attempted to kill British-American writer Salman Rushdie in New York in August 2022. Hadi Matar stabbed Rushdie a dozen times before being subdued. Salman Rushdie had faced death threats since the publication in 1988 of The Satanic Verses, a novel deemed blasphemous by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued a fatwa against him.
“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 B. Garland said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to court documents and statements made by the government in court, between September 2020 and August 2022, Matar attempted to provide material support and resources to Hezbollah.
The indictment further alleges that Matar attempted to kill and did in fact assault Rushdie.
The young Lebanese-American is on trial in a local court in New York, but he is also facing federal charges on three counts, including “supporting a foreign terrorist organization”, according to a court document dated July 17 and made public on Wednesday.
If convicted, Matar faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
