Salman Rushdie testifies in stabbing trial | World News

British-Indian author Salman Rushdie took the witness stand on Tuesday in the trial of Hadi Matar, the man accused of stabbing him during a literary event at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York in 2022.
Matar was subdued by bystanders and later arrested. He pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges.
Rushdie spoke for about an hour and described the attack in vivid detail.
Sudden attack
Rushdie recalled how the event had barely begun when he noticed someone rushing towards him from the right.
“I only saw him at the last minute,” he said. “I was aware of someone wearing dark clothes and a black face mask. I was very struck by his eyes, which were dark and seemed very ferocious to me.”
The attack was swift and brutal. “Initially he hit me very hard,” Rushdie said. “I thought he was hitting me with his fist, but I saw a large quantity of blood pouring onto my clothes. He was hitting me repeatedly. Hitting and slashing.”
Rushdie tried to escape but was struck multiple times in the chest, torso, and waist. “I was trying to get to my feet, out of the chair, and get away,” he said.
‘I thought I was dying’
As he lay on the stage, Rushdie described the overwhelming pain and the sight of blood.
“There were a number of blows to my chest and torso. Three stab wounds down the centre of my chest,” he said. He recalled a particularly painful wound to his eye, after which he screamed and lost vision in it.
“It occurred to me that I was dying. That was my predominant thought.”
Cross-examination
Matar’s defence lawyer, Lynn Shaffer, questioned Rushdie about his recollections of the attack.
She opened with a light remark: “I believe you said you are a writer?”
Shaffer later mentioned that her favourite movie was Bridget Jones’s Diary, in which Rushdie made a cameo. He said: “I am surprised. That was my most important work.”
She also asked if trauma could impact memory. Rushdie admitted that he mistakenly believed he had stood up when the attacker approached. However, when asked how many times he had been stabbed, he firmly responded, “I wasn’t counting at the time. I was otherwise occupied, but afterward I could see them on my body.”
Road to recovery
Rushdie spent 17 days in hospital and weeks in rehabilitation. He admitted he has not fully recovered.
“I think I’m not quite at 100%,” he said. “I think I’ve substantially recovered but it’s probably 75-80%. I’m not as energetic as I used to be. I’m not as physically strong as I used to be.”
The trial is underway.