Sir Salman Rushdie said he thought he was dying after being stabbed repeatedly on stage two years ago, leaving him blind in one eye.
The famous British-Indian author has testified in the process of his alleged striker, 27-year-old Hadi Matar, who admitted that he was not guilty of allegations of assault and attempted murder.
The proceedings are being conducted at the New York State Court a few miles from the place where Sir Salman was attacked on August 12, 2022, as he would talk about how the United States was a refuge for exile writers.
The attack came after Sir Salman spent years hiding because of threats to his life after his novel “Satanic Poems” was published in 1988.
Warning: This story contains disturbing details
Prosecutors who did not specify the motive for punctuation called Sir Salman on the rostrum as the first witness on Tuesday morning, asking him to recall the moments before and after the attack.
The 77-year-old told the jurors that on the day he was sitting on stage, ready to turn to the public at the prestigious Chautauqua institution.
Shortly after Sir Salman was introduced, he said he noticed a man who rushed to him on his right.
He described the attacker as wearing dark clothes and face mask and said he was hit by the eyes of the individual, “who are dark and looked very fierce.”
Sir Salman said he felt the first blow to his right jaw and the neck and at first thought he had been hit. Then he saw blood pouring on his clothes.
“At that moment, he hit me repeatedly, stabbing and cutting,” the author said, adding that the incident had evolved in a few seconds.
Sir Salman told the court that he had been hit a total of 15 times, with wounds to the eye, cheek, neck, chest, torso and thigh.
His left hand was also stabbed when he tried to defend herself.
The knife, the wound of his eye, was the most painful, he said.
At one point, he removed his glasses, which hid his right eye with a dark lens to reveal the degree of injury.
“As you can see, that's left of it,” he told the jury. “There is no vision in the eyes at all.”
While Sir Salman, who wore a dark suit, gave his testimony, Matar often had a head down, and the two never appeared to make contact with the eyes.
Sir Salman's wife, Lady Rushdie, called out of her place in the second row until her husband told the incident.
He is worried about his safety after the publication of the satanic poems, his surreal, postmodern novel, inspired by the life of the Muslim prophet Mohammed.
As he met recognition and awards in the Western world, many Muslims considered him blasphemy and some countries banned him. Iran's religious leader issued a Fatva calling for the author's death because of the book.
This Fatva – a religious decree – made Sir Salman face countless threats to death. He was forced to hide for nine years and began to travel again when Iran said it would not apply the law.
Two weeks before the attack, the author had told a German magazine that he lives a “relatively normal” life as the threats had decreased.
But the attack on Sir Salman in Chautau, New York, broke this sense of safety.
The writer told the court on Tuesday that at times after that “it came to my mind that I was dying – it was my predominant thought.”
He also describes the feeling that he is lying in a “blood lake”.
He recalled how observers, including audience members, conquered the attacker.
“And thanks to that I survived,” said Sir Salman.
The author told the jurors that he had been transferred to a traumatic center where he had received treatment for his injuries for 17 days.
Matar was arrested at the scene.
The suspect's lawyer, Lynn Zhafer, crossed Sir Salman, and asked him if he could trust the events by suffering the trauma.
The author replied that the trauma could change people's memory, but added that he was sure he was injured 15 times.
“Then I could see (wounds) on my body,” he said. “I didn't need to be told by anyone.”
Asked if he had ever had contact with the suspect before the attack, Sir Salman replied that he was not. He also said that the attacker had told him nothing.
More witnesses are expected to be called to the podium in the coming days, including a surgeon operating on Sir Salman, as well as law enforcement officers who have responded to the attack.