Video duration 00 minutes 54 seconds 00:54

An agent for Indian-origin British author Salman Rushdie has revealed his condition, saying reports are not good and that he is on artificial respiration after being stabbed during a conference in western New York state. Police identified the identity of the assailant.

The novelist’s agent, Salman Rushdie, said his client could lose an eye, and he had a severed vein in one of his arms and liver damage after he was stabbed on Friday.

“The news is not good, Salman will lose an eye. Nerves are severed in his arm, his liver is punctured and damaged,” agent Andrew Wylie said in a written statement.

undergoing surgery

American police spokesman James O. Callaghan told a press conference on Friday that author Salman Rushdie is undergoing surgery after being attacked.

Police in New York State have identified author Salman Rushdie as Hadi Mather, a 24-year-old American from New Jersey.

O’Callaghan added at a news conference that the motive behind the crime was still unclear.

Now – Salman Rushdie is stabbed on stage in New York.pic.twitter.com/qFmYE6BC5E

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) August 12, 2022

Attack details

Rushdie was hit and injured in the neck during a conference in New York and was immediately airlifted to a nearby hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, his agent Andrew Willey said on Twitter, promising to provide regular updates. The health of the 75-year-old novelist who has lived in New York for many years.

Carl Lewan, a professor of political science who was in the hall, told AFP by telephone that a man rushed to the stage where Rushdie was sitting and “stabbed him violently several times”. The witness said the attacker tried to kill Salman Rushdie.

The officer responsible for controlling security at the lecture arrested the suspect, while Rushdie’s interlocutor suffered a head injury.

Videos circulated on social media showed people rushing to help the writer after he was attacked.

Sir Salman Rushdie being stabbed while exercising a right is appalling.

My thoughts are with his loved ones right now. We all hope he will be fine.

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) August 12, 2022

Unity of Britain, America and France

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has condemned the “appalling” attack on a British author.

In a tweet, Johnson condemned the attack on Rushdie, saying, “When exercising a right, we must not stop defending it,” referring to freedom of expression.

For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his solidarity with Rushdie.

“For 33 years, Salman Rushdie embodied the struggle for freedom and against tyranny… His struggle is our struggle, a global struggle. Today, we stand with him more than ever,” Macron wrote on Twitter.

In turn, US National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan called the attack on author Salman Rushdie “horrific”. We all pray for his speedy recovery,” he added on Twitter.

The attack on Salman Rushdie is appalling. We all pray for his speedy recovery. And we thank the good citizens and first responders who quickly helped him.

— Jake Sullivan (@JakeSullivan46) August 13, 2022

Satanic Verses

Rushdie, now 75, rose to fame in 1981 with the publication of his second novel, Midnight’s Children, which won international acclaim and the Booker Prize for Literature, dealing with India’s journey to independence from British colonial rule and beyond.

But his novel “The Satanic Verses”, published in 1988, sparked a huge controversy and was considered offensive to Islam, and as a result, Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, issued a fatwa against wasting his blood. Iran offered a $3 million reward for his killer.

Rushdie was forced to go into hiding after a bounty was offered for his murder, and the British government placed him under police protection.

Rushdie had been in hiding for about a decade and had changed his residence several times.

Rushdie did not resume public performances until the late 1990s, after Iran announced that it did not support his assassination.

Rushdie, who currently lives in New York, is an activist for the protection of freedom of expression and has sparked outrage with his fierce defense of the “Charlie Hebdo” newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Reactions in the Muslim world.