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MAYVELL, N.Y. (AP) — A judge denied bail Thursday to the man accused of trying to kill Salman Rushdie as the acclaimed author prepared to give a lecture in western New York.
Hadi Matar, 24, appeared in a courtroom in western New York after a grand jury indicted him on charges that he rushed the stage at the Chautauqua Institute and stabbed Rushdie multiple times in front of a horrified crowd.
Dressed in a black and white prison uniform, Matar remained silent during the hearing as his lawyer unsuccessfully tried to convince the judge that he should be released pending trial. Public defender Nathaniel Barone said Matar has no criminal record and will not flee the country if released.
Barone also asked the judge to do something to stop reporters from trying to contact Mattar at the Chautauqua County Jail. The lawyer said the prison had received “several hundred phone calls” from people trying to contact Matar.
Some of this media coverage led to Mattar giving a brief interview to The New York Post in which he spoke of dislike for Rushdie and praised Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Khomeini issued a decree in 1989 demanding Rushdie’s death over his novel The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims consider blasphemous. A semi-official Iranian foundation had posted an award of more than $3 million.
Matar’s lawyer complained that the media coverage could potentially lead to a biased jury.
“He has a right to a fair trial. He has a right to a fair trial no matter what he’s accused of,” Barone said.
Judge David Foley denied that request, but ordered lawyers involved in the case not to give interviews.
“No talking to the press until we resolve this issue,” the judge said.
Rushdie, 75, is being treated at a hospital in Pennsylvania for serious injuries.
Salman Rushdie was attacked on stage at the Chautauqua Institute in New York on Friday. (Source: Charles Savenor/CNN)
Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said during the hearing that Mattar stabbed Mr. Rushdie a dozen times in the neck, stomach, chest, arm and right eye before he was stopped by shocked bystanders.
“He has no regard for his own freedom, judge, and is so driven by his motives that his mission to kill Mr. Rushdie is greater in his mind and trumps his personal freedom,” Schmidt told the judge.
The author was sitting in a chair at the lakeside retreat on August 12, waiting to be introduced for a discussion on the protection of writers-in-exile and freedom of expression, when Matar jumped on stage.
Henry Reese, 73, the co-founder of City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, was on stage with Rushdie and suffered a cut to the forehead, bruises and other minor injuries.
Matar, who lives in Fairview, New Jersey, with his mother, is charged with attempted murder and assault. He could face decades in prison if convicted. He pleaded not guilty.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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