Assassination: Rushdie speaking again, reports of improvement

The author should no longer be artificially ventilated, it is said. According to media reports, the artist is still unavailable. Nerves in his arm were severed and he could lose an eye.

It’s hopeful news about wounded writer Salman Rushdie that was heard from the hospital over the weekend. According to media reports, the British-Indian author is on the mend. The New York Times reported, citing his literary agent Andrew Wylie, that he was no longer being artificially ventilated and was able to speak again on Saturday – one day after the attack on the open stage.

Police say the man who attacked the writer is being investigated for second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault. He pleaded not guilty in a New York court. There was no further information on a motive for the crime. Second-degree murder is a separate offense in the US legal system for the death of a human being. He can be sanctioned in the US state of New York with years of imprisonment.

The man from the US state of New Jersey, whose family is from Lebanon, was seen in photos with a white mouth and nose mask in striped prisoner clothing and orange shoes. He remains in custody without bail, wrote the New York Times. The next hearing is scheduled to take place on August 19 at 3:00 p.m. (local time).

Rushdie could lose an eye

As of early Sunday, there was initially no new information about Rushdie’s health. According to US media, he continued to be treated at a hospital in Erie, in the neighboring US state of Pennsylvania. Fellow writer Aatish Taseer wrote on Twitter that Rushdie was joking. The tweet was apparently later deleted.

After the attack, Rushdie was taken to a hospital by helicopter, operated on and put on a ventilator, his agent Wylie told the New York Times on Friday evening. He cannot speak and will likely lose an eye. Nerves in his arm were also severed and his liver damaged.

Secretary of State for Culture Andrea Mayer (Greens) was relieved on Sunday about the author’s improved state of health. “At the same time, it is painful to know that his health will be affected for the rest of his life,” it said in a broadcast. “My encounter with Rushdie will never be forgotten, he is a fascinating and captivating person. Salman Rushdie showed that one person can make a difference,” said Mayer. It is our duty to defend the freedom of art and artists again and again. “Our hard-won democratic values ​​must never be taken for granted.”

International denial against attack

Rushdie has been persecuted by religious fanatics for decades. Because of his work “The Satanic Verses” from 1988, the then Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for the author to be killed.

Numerous politicians condemned the violence against Rushdie and stressed the importance of fundamental rights and freedom of expression. US President Joe Biden praised Rushdie for not being intimidated and for “essential, universal values” such as truth, courage and resilience. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter: “An international rejection of such criminal acts that violate fundamental rights and freedoms is the only way to a better and more peaceful world.”

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid also blamed Iran’s leadership for the attack. The incident was “the result of decades of incitement led by the extremist regime in Tehran,” Lapid wrote on Twitter on Saturday night.

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