Salman Rushdie on ventilator and may lose eye after being stabbed as man, 24, denies attempted murder

13 August 2022, 01:19 | Updated: 13 August 2022, 20:22

Sir Salman Rushdie is on a ventilator and may lose an eye after being stabbed in the neck and abdomen ahead of an event in upstate New York, his agent has said.

Footage circulated online shows the author receiving emergency treatment after he was attacked at an event for the Chautauqua Institution, a gathering of the arts and humanities in Chautauqua, near Buffalo.

Police confirmed the man suspected of stabbing Sir Salman Rushdie is being remanded in custody without bail after being charged with attempted murder and assault.

The suspected attacker, 24-year-old Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey, was transported and arraigned at Chautauqua County Jail on Saturday.

Matar appeared in court wearing a black and white jumpsuit and a white face mask, his hands cuffed in front of him.

A lawyer entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Matar during the arraignment hearing and he also pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault.

Mr Salman, a 75-year-old Indian-born British author, sustained nerve damage to his arm and damage to his liver, his agent said.

Sir Salman's agent Andrew Wylie told the publication the news was "not good," adding that the nerves in Sir Salman's arm were severed in the attack and his liver was "stabbed and damaged".

"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," Andrew Wylie said in a written statement.

Read more: Police identify suspect after Salman Rushdie stabbed in the neck and abdomen while on stage at New York event

Salman Rushdie's suspected attacker named as 24-year-old Hadi Matar

New York State police said in a statement after the attack: “A male suspect ran up onto the stage and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer.

“Rushdie suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck and was transported by helicopter to an area hospital.

“His condition is not yet known.

“The interviewer suffered a minor head injury.”

In a press conference held in Jamestown, New York, police officials alleged the suspect jumped on stage and stabbed the writer at least once in the neck and once in the abdomen.

Rushdie was at the event for a discussion of the United States as asylum for writers and other artists in exile and as a home for freedom of creative expression.

He was subjected to a fatwa and years of death threats after writing The Satanic Verses. In 1989 the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie.

He was attacked as he was preparing to deliver a lecture at the event.

Professor Anthony Glees says man who stabbed Salman Rushdie looks to him 'like a trained killer'

New York governor Kathy Hochul said that a state police officer saved his life and that of the moderator, who she said was also attacked.

She said he is "getting the care he needs at a local hospital".

She added: "He is alive, he has been airlifted to safety. But here is an individual who has spent decades speaking truth to power, someone who's been out there unafraid, despite the threats that have followed him his entire adult life."

Witnesses said he was able to walk off stage with assistance. Blood was spattered on a wall behind where Rushdie had been sitting and some blood was also on a chair.

A man, thought to be the attacker, was restrained at the scene and later led away by police.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said: "Today, the country and the world witnessed a reprehensible attack against the writer Salman Rushdie. This act of violence is appalling.

"All of us in the Biden-Harris Administration are praying for his speedy recovery. We are thankful to good citizens and first responders for helping Mr Rushdie so quickly after the attack and to law enforcement for its swift and effective work, which is ongoing."

Rushdie's book, The Satanic Verses has been banned in Iran since 1988 as many Muslims consider it blasphemous.

A bounty of over $3m had also been offered for anyone who kills him.

Lisa Appignanesi, writer and friend of Salman Rushdie, speaks to LBC

Iran’s current government has distanced itself from the fatwa and threats of violence against him but he still faces widespread anger over his writing.

One fan of the author wrote online: "Horrible to see these updates about the legendary writer Salman Rushdie, who's had a fatwa against him since 1989 for The Satanic Verses. His book Imaginary Homelands remains one of my favourite collection of essays. Hope he recovers from this."

Boris Johnson said: "Appalled that Sir Salman Rushdie has been stabbed while exercising a right we should never cease to defend.

"Right now my thoughts are with his loved ones. We are all hoping he is okay."

Rushdie spent a decade with police protection after the fatwa was issued against him and had previously said he received a ‘sort of Valentines card’ from Iran each year letting him know the country has not forgotten its vow.

The fatwa has led to the deaths of dozens of people.

Hitoshi Igarashi, who translated The Satanic Verses into Japanese for Rushdie, was stabbed to death on the campus where he taught literature. 

Ettore Capriolo, the Italian translator of the book, was knifed in his apartment in Milan. 

The novel’s Norwegian publisher William Nygaard, was shot three times outside his home and left for dead in October 1993,  but survived the attack. 

In Turkey, the book’s translator, Aziz Nesin, was the target of an arson attack on a hotel that killed 37.