THE trial of the man charged with stabbing Salman Rushdie is delayed due to the release of the author’s memoir about the attack, reported The Guardian.
Hadi Matar’s lawyer, who represents the accused attacker, successfully requested Judge David Foley to postpone the trial just before its scheduled start on Monday (8).
Foley ruled that Matar is entitled to review the memoir manuscript for trial preparation.
According to the report, the jury selection, initially set for next week, may be impacted by this decision.
Rushdie, who was stabbed in August 2022, plans to release the memoir, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, on April 16.
Matar’s defense, led by Nathaniel Barone, is considering a delay to access the manuscript and related materials.
Rushdie’s representatives rejected the prosecutor’s request for the memoir, citing intellectual property rights.
Matar pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges and is in custody since his arrest.
The attack occurred 33 years after Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa against Rushdie.
The memoir, described by Rushdie as “necessary,” aims to reclaim control over the incident and respond to violence with art.
District Attorney Jason Schmidt expressed frustration at the delay but assured the public that it will not change the trial’s outcome.
Rushdie previously spent years in hiding after threats following the 1988 publication of The Satanic Verses..
In June, Rushdie expressed uncertainty about facing his alleged attacker in court, stating, “There’s one bit of me that actually wants to go and stand on the court and look at him, and there’s another bit of me that just can’t be bothered.”
