Man accused of stabbing Salman Rushdie declines to give evidence in his defence

Hadi Matar, right, charged with severely injuring author Salman Rushdie in a 2022 knife attack, walks in to Chautauqua County court in Mayville, New York (Adrian Kraus/AP)

The man on trial in the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie has declined to give evidence in his defence as his lawyers rested their case without calling any witnesses.

“No, I do not,” Hadi Matar, 27, said when asked by Chautauqua County Judge David Foley whether he wished to take the stand on Thursday.