In 2022, Salman Rushdie was about to deliver a lecture before a live audience in western New York when a man ran towards him and plunged a knife into the author’s hand as he raised it in self-defense.

Two-and-a-half years after Salman Rushdie was repeatedly and nearly fatally stabbed at a public appearance, the renowned author is expected to testify at the trial of his alleged attacker, which began Tuesday.

A jury is being seated for the New York trial of Hadi Matar, 27, who is accused of trying to kill author Salman Rushdie on Aug. 12, 2022.