Hadi Matar was arrested following the attack on Salman Rushdie on Friday.
The mother of the New Jersey man, who stabbed author Salman Rushdie at a literary event, has said the 24-year-old “changed” after visiting Lebanon in 2018. Hadi Matar was arrested after stabbed Mr. Rushdie 10 times, including in the neck and stomach incident on Friday. He rushed onto the stage as the author prepared to give a presentation in New York. According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), Matar is facing charges of attempted murder and assault.
Talking to Daily mailMatar’s mother, Silvana Fardos, said her son’s mind turned into a capricious and introverted person after the visit to his father.
“I was expecting him to come back motivated to finish his studies, get his degree and get a job. But instead, he locked himself in the basement. He changed so much, he didn’t say. anything to me or his sisters for months,” she told the outlet. Matar was born in the US to Lebanese parents.
Also read | 5 facts about Hadi Matar
Miss Fardos, 46, said Matar banned her from entering the basement where he locked himself. He will sleep during the day and stay awake at night.
“Once he argued with me, asking why I encouraged him to go to school instead of focusing on religion. He was angry that I hadn’t introduced him to Islam since he was a child,” she said. speak.
The woman tells more Daily mail that she had never heard of Mr. Rushdie before receiving the frantic call from her daughter on Friday.
Ms. Fardos said: “I have never read any of his books. I didn’t know there was such a writer. I didn’t know my son had read his books.”
However, she said the family would continue “without him”.
“Like I told the FBI, I won’t talk to him anymore. He must be held accountable for his actions. I have two other minors in need of care. They’re upset, they’re in shock. All we can do is try to move on from this, without him.”
Matar appeared in court on Saturday, where he pleaded not guilty of the charges slap him in the face.
A preliminary assessment of Matar’s social media showed that he sympathized with “Shia extremism” and the cause of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Although there is no direct link between Matar and the IRGC, investigators are said to have found an image of Iranian commander Qassem Solemani, who was assassinated in 2020, in a mobile messaging app. Matar’s mobile phone.
