Man accused of stabbing Salman Rushdie rejects plea deal

Salman Rushdie was stabbed while on stage in a US theatre 2022 (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

The man charged with stabbing author Salman Rushdie has rejected a plea deal that would have shortened his state prison term but exposed him to a federal terrorism-related charge, the suspect’s lawyer said.

Hadi Matar, 26, has been held without bail since the 2022 attack, in which he is accused of stabbing Mr Rushdie more than a dozen times and blinding him in one eye as the acclaimed writer was on stage, about to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York.