Writer Salman Rushdie was taken off the ventilator on Saturday and is approachable. His literary agent confirmed this to the AP news agency. The 75-year-old writer was stabbed Friday at a lecture in New York state and suffered injuries to his neck, abdomen and eye.
Earlier, the literary agent reported that Rushdie is likely to lose an eye as a result of the stabbing. His liver was also damaged and nerves in his arm were severed. It is not yet clear to what extent the writer sustained permanent damage.
Police arrested a suspect shortly after the stabbing. Hadi Matar, 24, was charged with attempted murder and assault on Saturday. Matar claims to be innocent. The reason for the stabbing is still unclear.
Rushdie published the book in 1988 The Satanic Verses, in which he described the prophet Muhammad in a blasphemous manner according to critics. Iranian Ayatollah Komeini radioed Rushdie and others involved in the book a year after the book’s publication. Since then, the writer regularly receives death threats. His work is banned in Iran and other Islamic countries.
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