Trial postponed for man charged with 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie

The New Jersey man charged with stabbing “The Satanic Verses” author Salman Rushdie is allowed to seek material related to Rushdie’s upcoming memoir about the attack before standing trial, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Jury selection in Hadi Matar’s attempted murder and assault trial was originally scheduled to start Jan. 8.

Instead, the trial is on hold, since Matar’s lawyer argued Tuesday that the defendant is entitled by law to see the manuscript, due out in April 2024, and related material before standing trial. Written or recorded statements about the attack made by any witness are considered potential evidence, attorneys said.

“It will not change the ultimate outcome,” Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said of the postponement.

Matar, 26, who lived in Fairview, New Jersey, has been held without bail since prosecutors said he stabbed Rushdie more than a dozen times after rushing the stage at the Chautauqua Institution where the author was about to speak in August 2022.

Read more: AP