Rushdie wears glasses with one lens shaded to conceal the injury that made him blind in one eye. And it is precisely by describing that part of the event that he begins his testimony in Chautauqua County Courthouse in the state of New York in the USA.
The stab in my eye was extremely painful, I screamed in pain and couldn't see with my eye, says Rushdie to the jury members and adds that he was left in a "pool of blood".
The attack on the author, who was on stage with a moderator and was about to begin his lecture, came suddenly and unexpectedly.
I only saw him at the very last minute. Someone wearing black or dark clothes and a black face mask. I was very taken by his dark eyes, which I perceived as violent, says Salman Rushdie.
Was about to die
Rushdie says that he was stabbed several times in the chest and abdomen as he fought to get away.
I first thought he was punching me, but I saw a large amount of blood running down my clothes. He struck me repeatedly – struck and stabbed, says Rushdie during his testimony.
He remembers lying on the stage, experiencing a strong feeling of pain and shock, aware that he was lying in a huge amount of blood.
It struck me that I was about to die. That was the only thing I thought about, he says.
Denies the crime
Salman Rushdie's wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, is present in the courtroom and cries during her husband's testimony. Rushdie lost his sight in one eye in the attack and spent months recovering, a process he has described in the book "Knife – thoughts after an assassination attempt" which was published in April last year.
Hadi Matar, 27, who is charged with attempted murder and assault, was overpowered and arrested at the crime scene and has been detained since then. He denies the crime.
The trial is expected to last up to two weeks.
