Rushdie off ventilator, able to talk

 

 

SALMAN Rushdie has been taken off a ventilator and was able to talk, a day after the Mumbai-born author was stabbed, in what US authorities said was a “targeted, unprovoked, preplanned” attack.

Rushdie, who faced Islamist death threats for years after writing “The Satanic Verses”, was stabbed by a 24-year-old New Jersey resident identified as Hadi Matar, a US national of Lebanese origin, on stage on Friday while he was being introduced at a literary event of the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York.

“@SalmanRushdie off ventilator and talking! Continued prayers from all @chq,” Chautauqua Institution president Michael Hill said in a tweet on Saturday night.

Rushdie’s agent, Andrew Wylie, also confirmed the news to the US media. Rushdie, 75, was put on a ventilator after he was stabbed by Matar. Earlier on Saturday, Matar pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault at a brief court appearance where he was denied bail.