Sir Salman Rushdie is reportedly on ventilator and may lose one eye after being stabbed on stage New York State.
75 years old Indian origin British According to the New York Times, the author has suffered nerve damage to his arm and damage to his liver.
New York State Police named the suspected attacker as Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, who was taken into custody after the incident.
Sir Salman, whose writings received death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was about to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, about 65 miles southwest of Buffalo, when the incident occurred.
According to police officials, he was stabbed in the neck and once in the stomach at least once before being taken to the hospital.
Sir Salman’s agent Andrew Wylie says he is on a ventilator and unable to speak, according to the NYT.
Mr Wyllie said the news was “not good” and the author “will likely lose an eye”.
He said that Sir Salman’s arm was broken in the attack and his liver was “stabbed and damaged”.
Major Eugene Staniszewski said at a news conference held in Jamestown on Friday: “Earlier today at approximately 10.47 pm, guest speakers Salman Rushdie, age 75, and Ralph Henry Reese, age 73, had just arrived on stage at the Institute. .
“Soon thereafter, the suspect jumped onto the stage and attacked Mr. Rushdie, stabbing him in the neck at least once and in the stomach at least once.
“Several members of the organization’s staff and audience members ran over the suspect and led him to the ground, and soon after, a soldier at the institution, assisted by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Deputy, took the suspect into custody.
Author Salman Rushdie was attacked during a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution (AP/Joshua Goodman)
(AP)
“Mr. Rushdie was provided medical treatment by a doctor who was in the audience until EMS arrived at the scene.
“Mr Rushdie was taken to a local trauma center and is still undergoing surgery.”
Images from the Associated Press (AP) news agency showed Sir Salman lying on his back with his legs raised in the air and a first responder leaning over him.
His book The Satanic Verses has been banned in Iran since 1988, as many Muslims view it as blasphemy, and its publication prompted the then leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, to issue a fatwa for his death.
Mr. Reese of the City of Asylum organization, a residency program for writers in exile under threat of persecution, suffered a minor head injury.
They were to discuss America’s role as a refuge for writers and other artists in exile and a home for freedom of creative expression.
In the audience a video posted on Twitter by an AP reporter shows a man dressed in black being escorted off the stage.
Governor of New York Kathy Hochulu Told in a press conference that a state police officer saved Sir Salman’s life.
She said: “He is alive, he has been airlifted to safety. But here’s a man who has spent decades speaking the truth to power, someone who’s been out there oblivious to threats his entire adult life. ,
The Chautauqua Institution, which is hosting the lecture, tweeted about the incident, writing: “We pray for you Salman Rushdie and Henry Reese, and patience as we coordinate with police officers following a tragic incident at the amphitheater Let’s focus completely on today.
“All events have been canceled for the rest of the day. Please refer to the statement from the NYS Police.”
Its president Michael Hill said: “What we experienced at Chautauqua today is an event unlike anything in our nearly 150-year history.
“We were established to bring people and community together to learn and do so, to create solutions through action, to develop empathy, and to take on difficult problems.
Sir Salman is carried in a helicopter on a stretcher for transport to a hospital (AP)
(AP)
“Today we are now called to take on fear and the worst of all human traits – hatred.”
Jeremy Genovese, 68, of Beachwood, Ohio, a retired academic at Cleveland State University, told the PA news agency that he rushed to the amphitheater because it was being emptied and people were “streaming outside.”
he said: “People Were in shock, many people were shedding tears. Chautauqua has always prided itself as a place where people can engage in civil dialogue.
“The amphitheater is a large outdoor venue where people have given lectures since the late 1800s. You need a pass to access the grounds but it is not too difficult to enter.
Protests in Britain regarding the publication of the novel The Satanic Verses, 1989 (PA)
(PA Archive)
Sir Salman’s publisher Penguin Random House said they were ‘extremely shocked and shocked’ by the incident.
“We are deeply shocked and shocked to hear of the attack on Salman Rushdie as he was speaking at the Chautauqua Institution in New York,” Penguin Random House chief executive Marcus Dohley said in a statement to PA.
“We condemn this violent public attack, and our condolences are with Salman and his family in this hour of crisis.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter that he was “shocked that Sir Salman Rushdie has been stabbed while exercising an authority we should never stop defending”.
He said: “Right now my thoughts are with his loved ones. We are all hoping he is fine.”
Sir Salman was previously the president of Pen America, which celebrates free expression and speech, and its chief executive Susan Nossel was among those reacting to the attack.
She tweeted: “Pen America is reeling from shock and terror at word of a brutal, pre-planned attack on our former President and staunch ally, Salman Rushdie.”
She added: “Our thoughts and passions are now with our fearless Salman, wishing him a full and speedy recovery. We believe with hope and confidence that his essential voice cannot and will not be silenced. It will happen.
Sir Salman began his writing career in the early 1970s with two unsuccessful books before Midnight’s Children, about the birth of India, which won the Booker Prize in 1981.
This brought him worldwide fame and was named “Best Bookers” on the 25th anniversary of the literary award.
Blood stains mark a screen on stage where writer Salman Rushdie was under a knife attack during a lecture in New York (Joshua Goodman/AP)
(AP)
After Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa for his death on The Satanic Verses, the author remained in hiding in London for several years under a British government protection programme.
Finally, in 1998, the Iranian government withdrew its support for the death penalty and Sir Salman slowly returned to public life, even as himself in the 2001 hit film Bridget Jones’s Diary. appeared.
Index on Censorship, an organization promoting free expression, said funds were raised to promote the reward for the assassination of Sir Salman as recently as 2016, underlining that the fatwa for his death still stands. .
His other works include The Moor’s Last Sigh and Shalimar the Clown, which Booker had long cataloged for.
She was knighted in 2008 and made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honor earlier this year as part of the Queen’s birthday honours.