Salman Rushdie off ventilator, talking; attacker Hadi Matar pleads not guilty
Rushdie, 75, was on a ventilator after he was stabbed by 24-year-old Hadi Matar onstage at a event on Friday at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York State
Writer Salman Rushdie is off the ventilator and is talking, said the president of Chautauqua Institution, where the Mumbai-born author was stabbed at an event onstage. “@SalmanRushdie off ventilator and talking! Continued prayers from all @chq,” Chautauqua Institution president Michael Hill said in a tweet on Saturday night.
Rushdie, 75, was on a ventilator after he was stabbed by 24-year-old Hadi Matar onstage at a event on Friday at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York State. He was in surgery several hours after the attack and his agent Andrew Wylie told the New York Times (NYT) that the author was on a ventilator and could not speak.
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“The news is not good. Salman will likely lose one eye, the nerves in his arm were severed, and his liver was stabbed and damaged,” Wylie had said in a statement to NYT.
Attempted murder
Matar was charged with attempted murder and assault in the stabbing of Rushdie and he pleaded not guilty. He made his appearance in court, wearing a black-and-white striped jumpsuit and handcuffed.
The New York State Police said Matar, of Fairview, New Jersey, was arrested by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation on Friday for attempted murder second degree (B Felony) and assault second degree. He was processed at State Police, Jamestown and transported to the Chautauqua County Jail. He was arraigned in centralised arraignment on Saturday and “remanded without bail” to the Chautauqua County Jail.
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‘Shocked, appalled’
The attack on Rushdie drew shock and condemnation from world leaders and literary stalwarts. US President Joe Biden said in a statement on Saturday that he and First Lady Jill Biden were “shocked and saddened” to learn of the “vicious” attack on the author.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he is “appalled” to learn about the attack on Rushdie. “The Secretary-General was appalled to learn of the attack on renowned novelist Salman Rushdie,” a statement issued on Friday by his spokesperson said. “In no case is violence a response to words spoken or written by others in their exercise of the freedoms of opinion and expression,” Guterres said, conveying his wishes for Rushdie’s early recovery.