(10 Feb 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY: MUST CREDIT ELIZABETH WILLIAMS
++CLIENT NOTE: THIS VERSION ADDS A FOURTH SKETCH AND SPELLING FOR LYNN SCHAFFER++
ASSOCIATED PRESS – MUST CREDIT ELIZABETH WILLIAMS
Mayville, New York – 10 February 2025
1. COURTROOM SKETCH of District Attorney Jason Schmidt presenting his opening statement in the trial of Hadi Matar; Judge David Foley seated on the bench
2. COURTROOM SKETCH of Public Defender Lynn Schaffer asking her client, Hadi Matar, to stand as she gives her opening statement
3. COURTROOM SKETCH of first trial witness Deborah Moore Kushmaul, Director of Programming at the Chautauqua Institute, describing being handed the knife that was found on the stage
4. COURTROOM SKETCH of Chautauqua Institute former Director of Education, Jordan Steves, testifying how he attempted to disrupt the attack on Rushdie, with Judge David Foley on the bench
STORYLINE:
A prosecutor says Salman Rushdie was so stunned when a masked man started to stab him on a stage in western New York that the acclaimed author didn’t even try to fight back.
Rushdie is expected to testify during the trial of Hadi Matar, who is charged with attempted murder and assault in the August 2022 attack.
During his opening statement Monday, District Attorney Jason Schmidt described the swift and sudden attack by Matar, who stabbed Rushdie in the head, throat, abdomen, thigh and hand. Rushdie was left blind in one eye.
Matar, 27, of Fairview, New Jersey, has pleaded not guilty. He calmly said “Free Palestine” as he was led into the court Monday.
During Schmidt’s statement, Matar looked on from the defense table, occasionally taking notes.
Assistant public defender Lynn Schaffer told jurors that prosecutors would be unable to prove Matar’s guilt, even using video recordings and photos. She said the case is not as straightforward as the prosecution portrayed.
She acknowledged that nearly all the jurors admitted during jury selection that they had heard something about the case.
The trial will last up to two weeks, the lawyers said.
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