Booker Prize-winning author Sir Salman Rushdie has said he is "pleased" that the man who brutally attacked him on stage in 2022 has been handed the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
The 77-year-old Indian-born British author was stabbed multiple times during an event at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, leaving him blind in one eye. Rushdie testified at the 2025 trial of Hadi Matar, a US citizen who was convicted of attempted murder and assault earlier this year.
Matar was sentenced to 25 years for the attack on Rushdie and an additional seven years for injuring another man who was on stage at the time.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Monday, Rushdie said, "I was pleased that he got the maximum available, and I hope he uses it to reflect upon his deeds."
"AI Could Imagine a Conversation Better Than Reality"
Rushdie also spoke about working with the late BBC producer Alan Yentob on a unique 2024 documentary, which used artificial intelligence to simulate a fictional conversation between the author and his attacker - a concept inspired by Rushdie's memoir Knife: Meditations After An Attempted Murder.
"I thought if I was to really meet him and ask questions, I wouldn't get very much out of him... So I thought, I could open that conversation myself - probably better than a real one would go," Rushdie said, referring to the AI-generated dialogue.
He added that the animation was "very startling" and "certainly made a point".
Remembering Alan Yentob
Rushdie paid tribute to Alan Yentob, who passed away on Saturday, calling him an "unbelievable champion of the arts" and "a giant of British media".
"He will be remembered as a maker of great programmes and an enabler of great programmes as well," Rushdie said.
