Renowned author Salman Rushdie is on a ventilator after the attack and may have to lose an eye. He was attacked by a man with a knife on Friday at an event in New York, USA.
According to Rushdie’s agent Andrew Wyllie, Rushdie’s liver was damaged in the attack. Wyllie reported that Rushdie had broken nerves in his arm and damaged his liver. With this, there is a possibility of losing one of his eyes.
“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 said.
Salman Rushdie was born in 1974 in Mumbai and is 75 years old. He has a long history of controversies. After writing The Satanic Verses, he received death threats from Islamic extremists for several years. The book was released in 1988 and after 30 years of a fatwa, Rushdie was attacked.
Earlier, New York State Police identified the suspect as Hadi Matar. Matar hail from Fairview, New Jersey, and is 24 years old.
“The suspect has been identified as Hadi Matar, 24, from Fairview, New Jersey. Earlier today, approx at 10:47 am, the speaker Rushdie, 75, and Henry Reese, 73 has just arrived at the stage of the institution and shortly thereafter the suspect jumped out of the stage and attacked at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen,” Major Eugene J. Staniszewski said.
Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said, “He is alive and has been transported, airlifted, to safety… The event moderator was attacked as well; he’s getting the care he needs at a local hospital.”
Taking to Twitter Taslima Nasreen said, “I just learned that Salman Rushdie was attacked in New York. I am really shocked. I never thought it would happen. He has been living in the West, and he has been protected since 1989. If he is attacked, anyone who is critical of Islam can be attacked. I am worried.”
However, Rushdie was stabbed in the neck when he was on stage at the Chautauqua Institution. The Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit community on Lake Chautauqua in southwestern New York province.