Sir Salman Rushdie’s injuries remain ‘serious’ after being stabbed, but his condition is ‘in the right direction’, the author’s agent has said.
The 75-year-old was airlifted to hospital and underwent surgery hours after the attack on stage in Chautauqua, New York, on Friday.
His literary agent, Andrew Wylie, said: “He’s no longer on a ventilator, so the road to recovery has begun.
“It will be long, the injuries are serious, but his condition is going in the right direction.”
Sir Salman was stabbed around 12 times, including in the face and neck, the Chautauqua County Prosecutor’s Office said.
One of the facial injuries caused Sir Salman’s eye to be punctured. Another, in the abdomen, caused a perforation of the author’s liver.
There were also stab wounds to the abdomen and chest.
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Saturday, the suspect pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.
Hadi Matar24, appeared in court wearing a black and white jumpsuit and white mask, his hands cuffed in front of him.
Hadi Matar, 24, arrives in court. Photo: AP
The attack
Sir Salman, who lives in New York and became a US citizen in 2016, was due to speak with Henry Reese of the organization City of Asylum, a residency program for writers living in exile under threat of persecution.
They were to discuss America’s role as a haven for exiled writers and other artists and as a home for freedom of creative expression.
He was being introduced to Chautauqua Institution when a man stormed the stage and began stabbing him.
He fell to the ground as the suspect was pinned down by members of the public and staff.
satanic verses
Sir Salman’s book The Satanic Verses was banned in 1988 in a number of countries with large Muslim populations, including Iran, after it was considered by some to contain blasphemous passages.
Demonstrations in Tehran in 1989 against the publication of Salman Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses. Photo: AP
In 1989, then-Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for Sir Salman’s death.
The author has lived in exile for years, but told a German magazine earlier this month he believed his life had returned to “relatively normal”.
