Salman Rushdie testifies about his shock and pain as stranger repeatedly stabbed him on stage 

MAYVILLE, N.Y. — 

Salman Rushdie described successful graphic item Tuesday the frenzied moments successful 2022 erstwhile a masked antheral rushed astatine him connected a signifier successful occidental New York and repeatedly slashed him with a knife, leaving him with life-threatening injuries.

The 77-year-old writer addressed jurors connected the 2nd time of grounds astatine the proceedings of Hadi Matar, 27, who has pleaded not blameworthy to attempted execution and battle successful the attack. It was the archetypal clip since the onslaught that Rushdie recovered himself successful the aforesaid country with the antheral accused of trying the termination him.

"I lone saw him astatine the past minute," Rushdie said. "I was alert of idiosyncratic wearing achromatic clothes, oregon acheronian apparel and a achromatic look mask. I was precise struck by his eyes, which were acheronian and seemed precise ferocious."

Rushdie said helium archetypal thought his knife-wielding attacker was striking him with a fist.

"But I saw a ample quantity of humor pouring onto my clothes," helium said. "He was hitting maine repeatedly. Hitting and slashing."

Rushdie said helium was struck much times successful his thorax and torso and stabbed successful his thorax arsenic helium struggled to get away.

"I was precise severely injured. I couldn't basal up immoderate more. I fell down," helium said.

While lying connected the stage, helium recalled "a consciousness of large symptom and shock, and alert of the information that determination was an tremendous quantity of humor that I was lying in."

"It occurred to maine that I was dying. That was my predominant thought," helium said .

His wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, cried from her spot successful the courtroom's 2nd row.

Rushdie was blinded successful 1 oculus successful the onslaught and spent months recovering, a process helium elaborate successful a memoir released past year. A talker who was to look with Rushdie besides was wounded.

Jurors heard opening statements Monday, followed by grounds from staffers astatine the Chautauqua Institution, the nonprofit creation and acquisition halfway wherever the onslaught happened astir 120 kilometers southbound of Buffalo.

Matar has been successful custody since helium was subdued by spectators aft the attack.

The proceedings is expected to past up to 2 weeks.

Jurors are improbable to perceive astir a fatwa issued by the precocious Iranian person Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for Rushdie's death, according to District Attorney Jason Schmidt. Rushdie, the writer of "Midnight's Children" and "Victory City," spent years successful hiding aft Khomeini announced the fatwa successful 1989 pursuing work of the caller "The Satanic Verses," which immoderate Muslims see blasphemous

Schmidt has said discussing Matar's motive volition beryllium unnecessary successful the authorities trial, fixed the onslaught was seen by a unrecorded assemblage that was expecting to perceive Rushdie contiguous a lecture connected keeping writers safe.

"This is not a lawsuit of mistaken identity," Schmidt said during opening statements Monday. "Mr. Matar is the idiosyncratic who attacked Mr. Rushdie without provocation."

A nationalist defender representing Matar told jurors that the lawsuit is not arsenic straightforward arsenic prosecutors person made it retired to be.

"The elements of the transgression are much than `something truly atrocious happened' — they're much defined," Lynn Schaffer said. "Something atrocious did happen, thing precise atrocious did happen, but the territory lawyer has to beryllium overmuch much than that."

In a abstracted indictment, national authorities allege Matar was driven to enactment by a violent organization's 2006 endorsement of the fatwa. A aboriginal proceedings connected national coercion charges volition beryllium scheduled successful U.S. District Court successful Buffalo.