‘I was dying’: Salman Rushdie relives horror stabbing in court

Sir Salman Rushdie has told a court that he thought he was dying after being stabbed repeatedly on stage two years ago.

The attack left him blind in one eye.

The British-Indian author gave evidence at the trial of his alleged attacker, Hadi Matar, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and attempted murder.

The writer told the court that in the moments afterwards, “It occurred to me quite clearly that I was dying – that was my predominant thought.”

He described feeling as if he was lying in “a lake of blood”.

He then recalled how bystanders, including members of the audience, subdued the attacker.

“And thanks to that, I survived,” Rushdie stated.

The author was airlifted to a trauma centre, where he stayed for 17 days.

Proceedings are taking place at a New York state court a few miles from where Rushdie was attacked on 12 August 2022, as he was about to give a talk on how the US was a haven for exiled writers.

The attack occurred after Rushdie spent years in hiding because of threats to his life after his novel The Satanic Verses was published in 1988.

Matar was arrested at the scene.