Alright, so let’s talk about this wild story that just went down in New York. A dude named Hadi Matar got sentenced to 25 years behind bars for stabbing Salman Rushdie on stage during a lecture in 2022. Rushdie ended up blind in one eye because of the attack. Can you believe that?
So, the jury found Matar guilty of attempted murder and assault back in February. Rushdie didn’t even bother showing up to court for the sentencing, but he did send in a statement about how the whole incident impacted him. The 77-year-old author was the main witness during the trial, where he described the terrifying moment when he thought he was going to die as the masked attacker stabbed him multiple times. Crazy stuff, right?
Matar had some nerve to stand up in court and start talking about freedom of speech, calling Rushdie a hypocrite. The guy was all decked out in jail clothes and handcuffs, making bold statements about Rushdie being a bully. Matar ended up with the maximum sentence of 25 years for trying to kill Rushdie and an additional seven years for injuring another man on stage. The judge made sure those sentences ran together since both victims got hurt during the same event.
