Author Salman Rushdie testified Thursday at a federal court in Buffalo, describing the 2022 knife attack as an « enormous and expansive lake of blood. » Hadi Matar, 28, already sentenced to 25 years for attempted murder, faces federal transnational terrorism charges linked to allegiance to Iran and Hezbollah, stemming from the 1989 fatwa against Rushdie over his novel « The Satanic Verses. » The 79-year-old writer said the knife came « a millimeter from my brain » and left him blind in his right eye, with liver damage and temporary paralysis of his left hand. Matar, an American and Lebanese citizen, faces a potential life sentence if convicted of the federal charges. His lawyer said he may take the stand in his own defense.
Source: Read the original article
