OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon Hadi Matar is escorted out of the Chautauqua County Courtroom after being sentenced to 25 years for attempting to kill author Salman Rushdie.

MAYVILLE – In August of 2022, 24-year-old Hadi Matar traveled from New Jersey, entered Chautauqua Institution, and stabbed world-renowned author Salman Rushdie multiple times, nearly killing him.

Now three years later, Matar still doesn’t seem to have any remorse about the attack.

With that in mind, Chautauqua County Court Judge David Foley sentenced Matar to the maximum 25 years behind bars, plus five years post supervision for the guilty verdict of attempted murder.

Rushdie and Henry Reece were in the process of giving a presentation at the Institution in 2022 when Matar jumped on stage and began stabbing Rushdie multiple times, including his eye, liver and neck. Following the attack Rushdie was on a ventilator for several days. To this day Rushdie no longer has use of his right eye and wears a patch over it.

Neither Rushdie nor Reece were present at Friday’s sentencing. They wrote a letter to the court asking that Matar’s sentencing of two different guilty verdicts be given consecutively, but Foley said the law does not permit that.

For the attack on Reece, Matar was sentenced to seven years in prison plus three years post supervision, which will run concurrent with the attempted murder conviction.

Before Foley handed down the sentence, Matar was invited to speak, which defendants are entitled to do if they choose.

Although Matar never spoke during the jury trial, which occurred in February, he did decide to speak Friday.

“I heard a lot here about freedom of speech and I don’t necessarily disagree with that but respect is also important,” he said, referring to District Attorney Jason Schmidt arguing earlier that the stabbing was an attempt to suppress freedom of speech. “There’s things that you do that are punishable. If you burn the American flag, that’s punishable. There’s things that if you do certain things, people will get angry.”

Matar continued for about five minutes, arguing how respect is just as important as freedom of speech and said that Rushdie has disrespected the Muslim faith in his writings.

Rushdie has written several books, including “The Satanic Verses,” which was published in 1988. “The Satanic Verses” has been banned in Iran, as many Muslims consider it to be blasphemous. A year after it was banned, Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s death.

“I believe in freedom of speech but I believe in respect and respect of others is also important,” Matar said Friday.

After Matar spoke, Foley said he disagreed with what he said. “You may not respect Mr. Rushdie’s point of view or how he’s lived his life, but in the United States of America we have the right to live the life that we choose, and he has the right to express his views in the same way you have the right to express your views,” he said directly to Matar.

Public Defender Nathan Barone asked the court to consider a lesser sentence, noting that Matar has never been arrested before.

Foley, however, said he would have concerns about giving Matar a sentence less than the maximum. “I don’t disrespect your position regarding religion or in regards to who you respect or disrespect, but what prevents you from getting out and doing this again to Mr. Rushdie or doing it to someone else that you think is being disrespectful?” he asked.

Foley noted that violent acts against people who hold different views “has to be an answerable crime” which is why he chose to sentence Matar to the maximum. “We need to send a message through the judiciary that it will not be tolerated,” he said.

Afterward, Schmidt reflected on both Rushdie and Reece. “We have two individuals who are in their mid to late 70s who were stabbed. Mr. Rushdie was stabbed about 15 times and Mr. Reece was injured himself,” he said.

Schmidt also reflected on the people in the audience and on line who had to witness the attack, calling them “victims” as well. He said the memories of that day will haunt those who saw it forever.

Barone disagreed with Schmidt calling the witnesses “victims” but said he was not surprised about Friday’s sentencing. “When we got the sentence today, I was hoping for the best, but expecting the worst,” he said.

Barone was asked if he believes his client is remorseful for the attack. “That’s a fair question but I can’t answer that … I know if he had the opportunity he would not be sitting where he’s sitting today and if he could change things, he would,” he said.

Barone said he will be appealing the sentence but didn’t give any specifics of why he believes they will be successful.

While Matar has been sentenced to 25 years, he could end up behind bars longer.

Matar is facing federal charges, including attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization; engaging in an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries; and providing material support to terrorists.

Barone will be representing Matar on the federal charges as well.

He said there’s a court appearance in July. He said it’s possible they will go to trial late this year, but more likely it will happen in 2026.