New Delhi: Author Salman Rushdie is on a ventilator and will likely lose one eye while his liver was “stabbed and damaged” after an attack on him on Friday, his agent said as he informed that the “news is not good”.
According to a report by The New York Times (NYT) Rushdie’s agent Andrew Wylie said that the Mumbai-born author was on a ventilator and could not speak.
“The news is not good. Salman will likely lose one eye, the nerves in his arm were severed and his liver was stabbed and damaged,” Wylie informed in a statement to NYT.
Rushdie has been facing death threats for years since writing “The Satanic Verses”. He was stabbed by a 24-year-old New Jersey resident at an event in western New York State.
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Suspect Who Stabbed Rushdie Identified As Hadi Matar, Motive Yet To Be Ascertained
Hadi Matar (24) from New Jersey’s Fairview was identified as the suspect who stabbed Rushdie, Major Eugene Staniszewski of the New York State Police told a press conference on Friday evening.
According to news agency PTI, Rushdie was stabbed in the neck while he was on the stage at the Chautauqua Institution, a not-for-profit community on Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York State, where approximately 7,500 people are in residence on any day during a nine-week season.
Major Eugene Staniszewski stated that the 75-year-old author was provided medical treatment by a doctor present in the audience until emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene. “The doctor immediately began first aid” on Rushdie after which he was airlifted to a local trauma centre and was “undergoing surgery” at about 5 pm local time, several hours after the attack that took place at approximately 10:47 am.
When asked about Matar’s nationality, Staniszewski said, “I don’t know yet.” Asked how would he describe Rushdie’s condition, Staniszewski said, “We are trying to get an update and it is something that we are watching closely.”
He further informed that authorities were in the “process of obtaining search warrants for various items. There was a backpack located at the scene. There was also electronic devices”, PTI reported. At the moment, it is assumed that the suspect was “working alone”, he added.
As per Staniszewski, the authorities were yet to get any indication of a motive “at this time. But we are working with the FBI, the Sheriff’s Office and we will determine what the cause of this was and what the motive for this attack was”.
Attack On Salman Rushdie
Salman Rushdie was about to speak at the special Chautauqua Lecture Series event exploring the theme of “More than Shelter” for a “discussion on the United States as an asylum for writers and other artists in exile and as a home for freedom of creative expression”.
He was joined by Henry Reese, co-founder of the Pittsburgh nonprofit City of Asylum, the largest residency programme in the world for writers living in exile under the threat of persecution.
According to the New York State Police, at approximately 10:47 am local time, Rushdie and Reese (73) had just arrived on stage at the Chautauqua Institution for the event. “Shortly thereafter, the suspect jumped onto the stage and attacked Rushdie, stabbing him at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen,” Staniszewski said.
Several members of the staff at the institution and audience members rushed to the suspect and took him to the ground. A trooper with the New York State Police, who was at the institution, took the suspect into custody with the assistance of a Chautauqua County Sheriff’s deputy.
Reese was transported via ambulance to a local hospital, treated for facial injuries and subsequently released, authorities said.
The State Police are being assisted by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI in the investigation. Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt will determine “appropriate charges as the investigation continues”, authorities said, as quoted by PTI.
Attack On Salman Rushdie Is Appalling: White House National Security Advisor
White House National Security Advisor to the President of the US, Jake Sullivan, condemned the attack saying, “The attack on Salman Rushdie is appalling. We’re all praying for his speedy recovery. And we’re thankful to good citizens and first responders for helping him so swiftly”, news agency ANI reported.
“What we experienced at Chautauqua today is an incident unlike anything in our nearly 150-year history. We were founded to bring people together in community, to learn and in doing so, create solutions through action, to develop empathy and to take on intractable problems. Today, we are called to take on fear and the worst of all human traits. Hate,” Chautauqua Institution president Michael Hill said.
Counter Extremism Project (CEP) CEO Ambassador Mark Wallace also expressed shock over the incident as he said, “Rushdie is a champion of free speech who has lived under the threat of assassination since the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa against him in 1989. Despite the continuous calls for his execution by the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Rushdie has refused to be intimidated. His bravery and commitment to his values should be celebrated in this difficult moment.”
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(With Agency Inputs)
