Salman Rushdie Taken Off Ventilator After Stabbing, Attacker Pleads Not Guilty

Meanwhile, United States President Joe Biden hailed the writer’s courage and expressed his horror at the attack.

Indian-origin British author Salman Rushdie was taken off the ventilator and was able to speak, the author’s agent confirmed on Saturday, 13 August.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Indian-origin British author Salman Rushdie was taken off the ventilator and was able to speak, the author’s agent confirmed on Saturday, 13 August.

While the novelist remains hospitalised with serious injuries, fellow author Aatish Taseer in a since-deleted tweet on Saturday evening, said that Rushdie was “off the ventilator and talking (and joking).”

The Guardian reported that Rushdie’s agency, Andrew Wylie, confirmed the information without adding any details.

Earlier, Hadi Matar, the man accused in the stabbing, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault, in what a prosecutor called a “pre-planned” crime.

'Brutal', 'Wake-Up Call': Biden, Rishi Sunak on Attack

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden hailed the writer’s courage and expressed his horror at the attack against Rushdie.

In a White House statement, the US President said:

"Jill and I were shocked and saddened to learn of the vicious attack on Salman Rushdie yesterday in New York. We, together with all Americans and people around the world, are praying for his health and recovery.I am grateful to the first responders and the brave individuals who jumped into action to render aid to Rushdie and subdue the attacker."

United States President Joe Biden

President Biden added, "Salman Rushdie—with his insight into humanity, with his unmatched sense for story, with his refusal to be intimidated or silenced—stands for essential, universal ideals. Truth. Courage. Resilience. The ability to share ideas without fear. These are the building blocks of any free and open society."

Rishi Sunak, one of two candidates in the race to become the next British Prime Minister, also reacted to the attack and said that the it should act as a wake-up call to the West over Iran, Reuters reported, quoting The Sunday Telegraph.

According to the paper, the former Chancellor said, “The brutal stabbing of Salman Rushdie should be a wake-up call for the West, and Iran's reaction to the attack strengthens the case for proscribing the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps).”

Attacker Pleads Not Guilty

The accused's attorney had entered the plea, underlining that he was not guilty, on his behalf during an arraignment.

A judge ordered that the alleged attacker be held without bail after District Attorney Jason Schmidt told her that Matar purposely took steps to put himself in position to attack Rushdie, such as getting an advance pass to the event where the author was speaking and arriving a day early with a fake ID.

The Attack on Rushdie 

On Friday, Matar leaped onto the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and stabbed Rushdie during his introduction ahead of a lecture, following which he was taken into custody.

An Associated Press reporter witnessed the attacker confront Rushdie on stage at the Chautauqua Institution and stab or punch him 10 to 15 times as he was being introduced. Rushdie suffered a stab wound to his neck and was transported by helicopter to a hospital.

Dr Martin Haskell, a physician who was among the first ones to help Rushdie, described the author’s wounds as “serious but recoverable,” AP reported.

The attack has garnered condemnation from world leaders, writers, Indian authors and politicians.

'The Satanic Verses' Controversy

Rushdie's 1988 book 'The Satanic Verses' has been banned in Iran since 1988. It is also banned in several other countries, including India, which banned it before Iran. In 2015, Congress leader P Chidambaram accepted that the book should not have been banned.

Iran's late leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, had issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie's death. The country had also offered over $3 million in reward for anyone who killed Rushdie.

While the Japanese translator of 'The Satanic Verses', Hitoshi Igarashi, was stabbed to death in 1991, its Italian translator Ettore Capriolo was seriously injured in a stabbing the same year. The Norway publisher of the book William Nygaard was shot three times in an attempted assassination in 1993, but survived.

(With inputs from The Guardian, ANI and PTI)