Jury members in the first trial of two regarding the attempted murder of author Salman Rushdie will not hear anything about the fatwa against Rushdie. This despite it allegedly having motivated the suspect, Hadi Matar.
There is no reason to bring it up, said prosecutor Jason Schmidt during a preparatory hearing before the trial in Chautauqua, New York, which begins on October 15.
As an explanation, Schmidt emphasized that it was not necessary to specify any motive since the knife attack was witnessed by the audience who had come to listen to Rushdie's stage talk. The events were also recorded.
Hadi Matar, 26 years old, is being prosecuted for having stabbed Rushdie over twelve times, including making him blind in one eye. Salman Rushdie himself will be questioned early during the trial.
Beside this trial, a federal court has charged Hadi Matar with terrorist crimes and for attempting to carry out the death sentence that Ayatollah Khomeini issued against Rushdie in 1989.
