The author of The Satanic Verses, whose head was offered in the Arab world for $3 million, was injured during a speech at a literary festival at the Chautauqua Institute in New York.
Seriously wounded Salman Rushdie disconnected from the ventilator, according to his agent, the writer can already talk. He remains in hospital, while the key suspect denies attempted murder, The Guardian reports.
The Indian-born British author remains in hospital with serious injuries, but fellow writer Aatish Taseer tweeted on Saturday night, that he is “disconnected from the ventilator, talking (and joking).” Rushdie's agent, Andrew Wiley, confirmed the news without providing further details.
Earlier Saturday, Hadi Matar, the 24-year-old man suspected of Friday's attack at an upstate New York literary festival, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges during a brief court appearance where he was denied bail.
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In 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the assassination of Rushdie for the book The Satanic Verses
Rushdie was in hiding under police protection for years after the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa in 1989 calling for Rushdie's assassination in retaliation for his book The Satanic Verses. Many Muslims interpreted the author's book as blasphemous because it contained a character who, in their opinion, insulted the Prophet Mohammed.
At the time of the attack at the Chautauqua Institute, 75-year-old Rushdie spoke about the importance of the United States providing asylum to exiled writers. , and recently said he thinks his life is “very normal again.”
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The attacker planned the future murder in advance and entered the event with forged documents
On Saturday, District Attorney Jason Schmidt said that the alleged attacker at Rushdie, Hadi Matar, 24, received a pass to the event where the author was speaking in advance and arrived a day early with a fake ID.
“This was a targeted, unprovoked, pre-planned attack,” Schmidt claims.
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Public defender Nathaniel Barone complained that authorities took too long to bring the suspect before a judge, but “he has a constitutional right to the presumption of innocence.”
According to preliminary reports, Matar rushed the stage and stabbed Rushdie several times. , before he was crushed by spectators, employees of the institution and two local law enforcement officers who provided security.
As a result, Rushda suffered a damaged liver and severed nerves in his hand and eye. He will probably lose the injured eye.
The attack sparked shock and outrage from much of the world, as well as tributes and praise for the award-winning author, who has faced death threats for more than 30 years over The Satanic Verses.
The motive for the attack remains unclear. Suspect Matar was born a decade after the publication of The Satanic Verses in the United States to parents who emigrated from Yaroun in southern Lebanon, the village's mayor, Ali Tehfe, told the Associated Press.
Flags of the Iranian-backed Shiite group Hezbollah can be seen throughout the village, as well as portraits of Khomeini and slain Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
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Journalists who visited Yarun on Saturday were asked to leave. Hezbollah officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Iran's theocratic government and its state media have not given any motive for the attack. In Tehran, some Iranians applauded the attack on the author, who they said defamed the Islamic faith, while others worried it would further isolate their country.
Recent events have led to renewed interest in the “Satanic poems”, which topped the bestseller lists after the fatwa was issued in 1989. As of Saturday, the novel was ranked 13th on Amazon.com.
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Recall, among other things, that Salman Rushdie's book contains information about how the translators of The Satanic Verses into Japanese and Italian language. And the author himself talked about life in the underground.
