Crime

Judge Denies Bail For Salman Rushdie's Attacker, Bars Interviews

Hadi Matar, 24, appeared in a New York courtroom after a grand jury indicted him on charges that he rushed the stage and stabbed Salman Rushdie.

Defense attorney Nathaniel Barone, left, and Hadi Matar, 24, right, listen during an arraignment
Joshua Bessex / AP
SMS

A judge refused to grant bail Thursday to the man accused of trying to kill Salman Rushdie as the acclaimed author prepared to give a talk in western New York.

Hadi Matar, 24, appeared in a western New York courtroom after a grand jury indicted him on charges that he rushed the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and stabbed Rushdie multiple times in front of a horrified crowd.

Dressed in a black and white jail uniform, Matar stayed quiet during the hearing while his lawyer unsuccessfully tried to persuade the judge that he should be released while he awaited trial. Public defender Nathaniel Barone said Matar had no criminal record and wouldn't flee the country if released.

Barone also asked the judge to do something to stop reporters from trying to contact Matar at the Chautauqua County jail. The lawyer said the jail had received "several hundred phone calls" from people trying to reach Matar.

Some of that media outreach resulted in Matar giving a brief interview to The New York Post, in which he talked about disliking Rushdie and praised Iran's late supreme leader, Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Khomeini issued an edict in 1989 demanding Rushdie's death over his novel "The Satanic Verses," which some Muslims consider blasphemous. A semiofficial Iranian foundation had posted a bounty of over $3 million.

Iran Denies Involvement But Justifies Salman Rushdie Attack
Iran Denies Involvement But Justifies Salman Rushdie Attack

Iran Denies Involvement But Justifies Salman Rushdie Attack

While Iran hasn't focused on author Salman Rushdie in recent years, a decades-old Islamic edict demanding his killing still stands.

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Matar's lawyer complained that the media coverage could potentially lead to a biased jury.

"He's entitled to a fair trial. He's entitled to due process, no matter what he's accused of," Barone said.

Judge David Foley declined that request, but he ordered the lawyers involved in the case not to give interviews.

"No speaking to the press until we have resolved this issue," the judge said.

Rushdie, 75, is getting treatment in a Pennsylvania hospital for severe wounds. His literary agent, Andrew Wylie, has said Rushdie had a damaged liver and severed nerves in an arm, and could lose an eye.

Agent: Rushdie Off Ventilator, Talking Day After Attack
Agent: Rushdie Off Ventilator, Talking Day After Attack

Agent: Rushdie Off Ventilator, Talking Day After Attack

Rushdie, whose novel "The Satanic Verses" drew death threats from Iran's leader in the 1980s, was stabbed on stage before his scheduled lecture in NY.

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Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt called the attack "preplanned."

The author had just taken the stage at the normally tranquil lakeside retreat for a discussion of protections for writers in exile and freedom of expression when Matar jumped onstage.

Henry Reese, 73, the cofounder of Pittsburgh's City of Asylum, was onstage with Rushdie and suffered a gash to his forehead, bruising and other minor injuries.

Matar, who lived in Fairview, New Jersey, with his mother, is charged with attempted murder and assault. He could get decades in prison if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.