Salman Rushdie, the British-Indian author, testified in a federal terrorism trial in Buffalo, New York, against Hadi Matar, a 28-year-old Lebanese-American accused of attempting to kill him in 2022.

Prosecutors claim Matar was motivated by a fatwa issued by former Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989, which condemned Rushdie's novel 'The Satanic Verses' for its portrayal of Prophet Muhammad.Matar was previously sentenced to 25 years in state prison for the attack, which left Rushdie blind in one eye.The federal trial now focuses on terrorism charges, with prosecutors alleging Matar also supported Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian militant group.Matar's defense argues he acted out of personal anger over the book's content, not as a terrorist agent.

Rushdie, who lived in self-imposed exile in London for a decade after the 1989 fatwa, has spoken about the attack in court, describing the assault as a violent interruption of a free-speech event.If convicted, Matar faces life imprisonment.The case highlights tensions between free speech, religious extremism, and legal accountability in the U.S.justice system.