Salman Rushdie 'pleased' as man who stabbed him blind is jailed for 25 years

North Wales Live

26-05-2025

Sir Salman Rushdie has expressed his satisfaction that the man who repeatedly stabbed him during a stage appearance received the longest possible sentence of 25 years behind bars.
The 77-year-old author, known for winning the Booker Prize, provided testimony at the 2025 trial regarding the violent 2022 episode at New York's Chautauqua Institution, which resulted in him losing sight in one eye.
Hadi Matar, a US national, was found guilty in February of attempted murder and assault, receiving his sentence earlier this month.
He was given a seven-year sentence for injuring another individual who shared the stage with the author during the assault.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday, the Indian-born British novelist Sir Salman remarked: "I was pleased that he got the maximum available, and I hope he uses it to reflect upon his deeds."
He also recounted his collaboration with late BBC producer Alan Yentob on a 2024 BBC Two programme which included an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated dialogue, based on a fictional exchange with his attacker Matar that was described in his autobiography, 'Knife: Meditations After An Attempted Murder. '.
Reflecting on how he imagined a face-to-face encounter with Matar might go, Sir Salman noted: "I thought if I was to really meet him, to ask him questions, I wouldn't get very much out of him. I doubt that he would open his heart to me."
He considered that creating the interaction himself was more effective, stating: "And so I thought, 'well, I could open it by myself. I'd probably do it better than a real conversation would'."
Sir Salman added: "(The AI animation) was very startling. I have to say it really certainly made a point."
Sir Salman Rushdie has hailed former BBC executive and TV presenter Alan Yentob as an "unbelievable champion of the arts" with a "real gift for friendship".
"He's one of the giants of British media in the last generation," Sir Salman remarked.
"I think he will be remembered as a maker of great programmes and as an enabler of great programmes as well," he added.
Reflecting on his own career, Sir Salman credited Yentob with giving him his first break on a programme that featured Sir Ben Kingsley reading his book Midnight's Children before it won the Booker Prize, and prior to the publication of his controversial 1988 book The Satanic Verses.
The Satanic Verses led to accusations of blasphemy from hardline Muslims and resulted in Iran's then-leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issuing a fatwa calling for Sir Salman's death in 1989.
In a lighter vein, Sir Salman recalled spoofing himself and Yentob in an arm-wrestling skit on the BBC satirical show W1A.
Addressing the Kids Company scandal that forced Yentob to resign, Sir Salman expressed that it was "horrendous" and emphasised: "I think it needs to be said, repeatedly, (he was) completely exonerated, and so were all the other directors."
Yentob, who chaired the board of trustees for Kids Company from its inception in 2003 until its collapse in 2015, consistently denied any conflict of interest regarding his intervention with Newsnight's investigation into the charity and maintained he had not "abused my position at the BBC".
During Yentob's tenure at BBC2, he commissioned Absolutely Fabulous, featuring Jennifer Saunders and Dame Joanna Lumley, the arts series The Late Show, and Have I Got News For You.
He also initiated CBBC and CBeebies, commissioned Pride And Prejudice starring Colin Firth, and in 2024 was honoured as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the King for his services to the arts and media.