Salman Rushdie’s alleged attacker won’t see author’s private notes before trial

MAYVILLE, NY – Author Salman Rushdie does not need to hand over private notes about his stabbing to the man accused of attacking him, a judge ruled Thursday, rejecting the alleged attacker’s claim that he is entitled to the material as he prepares for trial.

Hadi Matar’s lawyers in February subpoenaed Rushdie and publisher Penguin Random House for all source material relating to Rushdie’s recently published book book of Memories: “Knife: Meditations after an Assassination Attempt,” which details the 2022 attack on the Chautauqua Institution. Public Defender Nathaniel Barone said the material he sought contained information not available anywhere else.

“You could get it from the book,” Chautauqua County Judge David Foley told Barone during Thursday’s arguments, before calling the request too broad and onerous. Additionally, the judge said, Rushdie and the publisher are covered by New York’s Shield law, which protects journalists from being forced to disclose confidential sources or materials.

Demanding that Rushdie hand over personal materials “would have the effect of victimizing Mr. Rushdie a second time,” said Elizabeth McNamara, a lawyer for Penguin Random House, in asking that the subpoenas be quashed.

Matar, of Fairview, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty to assault and attempted murder after being indicted by a Chautauqua County grand jury shortly after authorities said he went on stage and stabbed Rushdie as he was about to address about 1,500 people in an amphitheater at the retreat in western New York.

Rushdie, 77, spent years in hiding after the Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or decree, in 1989, calling for his death due to his novel “The Satanic Verses”, which some Muslims consider blasphemy. For the past two decades, Rushdie has traveled freely.

Also on Thursday, the judge rescheduled Matar’s trial from September to October to accommodate Rushdie’s travel schedule, and that of Asylum Pittsburgh director Henry Reese, who was moderating the appearance at the Chautauqua Institution and was also injured. . Both men are expected to testify.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Oct. 15, District Attorney Jason Schmidt said.