The federal terrorism trial of Hadi Matar, the man convicted of attempting to kill author Salman Rushdie, opened on Wednesday in Buffalo, New York, with prosecutors alleging he sought to carry out a 1989 fatwa and had communicated with a contact in Iran. Assistant US Attorney Timothy Lynch told the court that Matar intended to “fulfil the fatwa” and that in May 2022, roughly three months before the attack, he exchanged messages with an individual named “Kamyar” in Iran, who confirmed the religious ruling remained valid. The prosecution presented evidence that Matar then wrote he knew where to find Rushdie and asked “how to do it”, before travelling to the Chautauqua Institution where he stabbed the author repeatedly in front of an audience.

According to federal prosecutors, Matar’s actions were not merely an expression of religious outrage but were intended to serve the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. Lynch said Matar had created propaganda videos incorporating speeches by Hezbollah’s late leader Hassan Nasrallah, kept photographs of Iranian leaders in his bedroom, and used a false identity card with details linked to Hezbollah operatives. The government must convince the jury that Matar provided material support to a terrorist organisation and responded directly to its call, a higher threshold than proving he was inspired by extremist propaganda. A previous federal appeals ruling has held that mere influence by a group’s messaging is insufficient to establish collaboration.

The defence, led by attorney Nathaniel Barone, rejected any suggestion that Matar acted on behalf of Iran or Hezbollah. Barone described his client as a “religious” individual deeply angered by Rushdie’s novel “The Satanic Verses”, but insisted he was not under the control of any terrorist group. “The government doesn’t know what Hadi intends or what his state of mind was at any time,” Barone told jurors. Matar, a 28-year-old American of Lebanese descent, was already sentenced to 25 years in state prison last year for attempted murder and assault. The current federal charges, including engaging in an act of transnational terrorism, carry a potential life sentence.

The attack on 12 August 2022 at the Chautauqua Institution left Rushdie, now 79, blind in one eye and nearly killed him. The author is expected to testify later this week. The fatwa was issued in 1989 by Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini following the publication of “The Satanic Verses”, which some Muslims considered blasphemous. The trial continues as prosecutors seek to establish a direct operational link between Matar and the Iranian regime or its proxies, while the defence maintains the stabbing was a lone act of religious fury.