Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN/AP) - A federal jury took less than two hours to convict Hadi Matar of attacking Salman Rushdie at the Chautauqua Institution in 2022.
Matar, an American citizen previously living in New Jersey, is already serving a 25-year state prison sentence for the attempted murder
Prosecutors contend that Matar was acting upon a former Iranian leader's 1989 call for Rushdie's death because of “The Satanic Verses,” which ignited protests across the Muslim world. Some believers considered it blasphemous because of a dream sequence featuring Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Matar didn't testify in the federal trial.
His lawyer has said federal prosecutors are making implications but don't have proof about the man’s intentions.
Federal jurors took two hours to reach a verdict
Federal jurors took two hours to reach a verdict
