ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA: Salman Rushdie, the author of “The Satanic Verses,” has been taken off the ventilator and is now able to talk. He was attacked by a man who rushed the stage at the Chautauqua Institution in Upstate New York on Friday, July 13, as Rushdie, 75, was starting a lecture on freedom of expression.
During the suspect’s arraignment, attorney Jason Schmidt said that Rushdie had three stab wounds on the right side of his neck, four in his stomach, a puncture wound in his right eye that could cause him to lose it, two puncture wounds in his chest, and a cut on his right thigh. He was taken to the UPMC Hamot hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, by helicopter.
Rushdie’s friend and fellow author Aatish Taseer tweeted that he was “off the ventilator and talking (and joking)”. Taseer later deleted the tweet, but Rushdie’s agent, Andrew Wylie, said that the information was true. The Daily Mail said that he did not give any more information. A lot of people shared the information on Twitter.
At an arraignment on Saturday afternoon, July 13, Hadi Matar, who is suspected of stabbing Rushdie, said he was not guilty. The 24-year-old was charged with trying to kill someone and beating someone. He said this during a court case in Mayville at the Chautauqua County Courthouse. During the arraignment, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said, “This was a planned, deliberate attack on Mr. Rushdie that had nothing to do with him.”
Schmidt said that Matar, who lived in Fairview, NJ, took a bus to Chautauqua and bought a pass to the educational institute two days before the event. He got there at least a day ahead of time. “He did not have a wallet with him. He had cash and Visa cards that were already paid for. Schmidt told the New York Post that the man had fake identification with him.
Schmidt told Judge Marilyn Gerace about the fatwa that the Iranian government under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued against Salman Rushdie in 1989. “That’s a big deal when it comes to bail, because I don’t care about his money… Schmidt, who wanted Matar to be held without bail, said that the plan that was carried out yesterday is something that larger groups and organizations far outside of Chautauqua County agree with and support. “Even if this court sets bail at a million dollars, there is a chance that it could be paid because of that,” the prosecutor said.
Matar was sent to jail without bail by Gerace. Matar’s lawyer, Nathaniel Barone, said after the trial that his client had done nothing wrong and had been “very cooperative.” Matar’s posts on social media made it look like he backed Iran and its Revolutionary Guard. He also wrote posts that supported extreme Shi’a beliefs.