Salman Rushdie attacked LIVE updates: Justin Trudeau slams attack on 'freedom of speech'

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has slammed the attack on author Rushdie saying that it was collectively an assault on said on freedom of expression. “No one should be threatened or harmed on the basis of what they have written. I’m wishing him a speedy recovery,” Trudeau said in a tweet.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Saturday “strongly” condemned the knife attack on writer Salman Rushdie. “International rejection of such criminal actions, which violate fundamental rights and freedoms, is the only path towards a better and more peaceful world”, Borrell said in his tweet.

The man accused in the stabbing attack on Salman Rushdie pleaded not guilty Saturday to attempted murder and assault charges in what a prosecutor called a “preplanned” crime, as the renowned author of “The Satanic Verses” remained hospitalized with serious injuries.

An attorney for Hadi Matar entered the plea on his behalf during an arraignment in western New York. The suspect appeared in court wearing a black and white jumpsuit and a white face mask, with his hands cuffed in front of him.

A judge ordered him held without bail after District Attorney Jason Schmidt told her Matar took steps to purposely put himself in position to harm Rushdie, getting an advance pass to the event where the author was speaking and arriving a day early bearing a fake ID.

“This was a targeted, unprovoked, preplanned attack on Mr. Rushdie,” Schmidt said.

The man accused of carrying out a stabbing attack against "Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie has entered a not-guilty plea in a New York court on charges of attempted murder and assault. An attorney for Hadi Matar, 24, entered the plea on his behalf during an arraignment hearing. Matar appeared in court wearing a black and white jumpsuit and a white face mask. His hands were cuffed in front of him. Matar is accused of attacking Rushdie on Friday as the author was being introduced at a lecture at the Chautauqua Institute. Rushdie suffered serious injuries in the attack and remains hospitalized.

Source: Associated Press

Harry Porter author JK Rowling has told fans that the police are involved after she tweeted about Salman Rushdie and received death threats on Twitter. Powling expressed sympathy for Rushdie after he was stabbed in a knife attack in New York. Rowling tweeted: “Horrifying news. Feeling very sick right now. Let him be ok.” A Twitter user wrote" you're next" in response to Rowling's tweet. 

London mayor Sadiq Khan on Sunday expressed anguish over the brutal knife attack on Salman Rushdie. "I'm sickened by this horrific attack," he wrote. 

UK's Labour party leader Keir Starmer has condemned the knife assault on Salman Rushdie.  He said: "Salman Rushdie has long embodied the struggle for liberty and freedom against those who seek to destroy them. "This cowardly attack on him yesterday is an attack on those values. The whole Labour Party is praying for his full recovery."

Author Salman Rushdie's agent has informed the news agencies that he is on ventilator, unable to speak and is a critical condition after the stabbing incident. The assailant suspected of attacking Rushdie was apprehended and has been charged with attempted murder and assault, prosecutors said on Saturday. 

President Joe Biden and the White House condemned the “reprehensible” stabbing of author Salman Rushdie, The Independent reported.  National security adviser Jake Sullivan said, "Today, the country and the world witnessed a reprehensible attack against the writer Salman Rushdie.

"This act of violence is appalling. All of us in the Biden-Harris Administration are praying for his speedy recovery," Sullivan added. 

"We are thankful to good citizens and first responders for helping Mr. Rushdie so quickly after the attack and to law enforcement for its swift and effective work, which is ongoing."

Hadi Matar, the 24-year-old New Jersey man who stabbed novelist Salman Rushdie at an event in New York on Friday, faces charges of attempted murder and assault.

Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, who has been living in exile for the last 27 years after the ban of her book "Lajja" and subsequent fatwa for allegedly offending religious sentiments, posted a string of tweets condemning the attack on Rushdie. She expressed fear for the life of anyone critical of Isalm across the world.

"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," she tweeted.

Senior member of All-India Muslim Personal Law Board Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali on Saturday said no one has the right to take law into his hand and the attack on controversial writer Salman Rushdie can't be termed as correct.

The Mumbai-born controversial author, who faced Islamist death threats for years after writing "The Satanic Verses", was stabbed by a 24-year-old man on Friday while he was being introduced at an event in Western New York in the US.  

Mahali said Prophet Mohammed always gave the message of peace. "Hence, the Muslims should take the path shown by Him," he said. 
 

Attack on author Salman Rushdie has evoked widespread condemnation from people across the world. Like many, Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut also took to social media to express anger over the shocking incident.

Calling the assailant "jihadi", Kangana wrote, "Another day another appalling act by jihadis. The Satanic Verses is one of the greatest books of its time... I am shaken beyond words. Apalling."

Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar has condemned the attack on celebrated author Salman Rushdie and called it an attack on freedom of speech. 

Salman Rushdie, who was attacked and stabbed on stage at a literary event here, has previously complained about having too much security around him, according to a media report on Saturday. 

In 2001, Rushdie publicly complained about having too much security around him, The New York Post reported.

While attending the Prague Writers' Festival, he told reporters, To be here and to find a large security operation around me has actually felt a little embarrassing... I thought it was really unnecessary and kind of excessive and was certainly not arranged at my request."

(PTI)

"I also read about it. This is something that the whole world has noticed and the whole world has reacted to such an attack," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar commented on the attack on Salman Rushdie.

Belgian SP Darya Safai claimed, "Rushdie‘s attacker, Hadi Matar, used this fake driver's license. His fake identity was 'Hassan Mughniyah', a reminder of Imad Mughniyeh, a senior Hezbollah official close to Iran's IRGC Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "appalled" to learn about the attack on author Salman Rushdie, saying that in no case is violence a response to words spoken or written by others in their exercise of the freedoms of opinion and expression. "The Secretary-General was appalled to learn of the attack on renowned novelist Salman Rushdie," a statement issued on Friday by his spokesperson said. "In no case is violence a response to words spoken or written by others in their exercise of the freedoms of opinion and expression," Guterres said, conveying his wishes for Rushdie's early recovery.

Iranians reacted with praise and worry Saturday over the attack on novelist Salman Rushdie, the target of a decades-old fatwa by the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for his death. It remains unclear why Rushdie's attacker, identified by police as Hadi Mattar of Fairview, New Jersey, stabbed the author as he prepared to speak at an event Friday in western New York. Iran's theocratic government and its state-run media have assigned no motive to the assault.

But in Tehran, some willing to speak to The Associated Press offered praise for an attack targeting a writer they believe tarnished the Islamic faith with his 1988 book “The Satanic Verses.” In the streets of Iran’s capital, images of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini still peer down at passers-by. “I don’t know Salman Rushdie, but I am happy to hear that he was attacked since he insulted Islam," said Reza Amiri, a 27-year-old deliveryman. 

The 24-year-old man detained in connection with the stabbing of Mumbai-born controversial author Salman Rushdie was sympathetic to "Shia extremism" and the causes of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to a media report. Though there are no direct links between Matar and the IRGC, law enforcement officers reportedly found images of slain commander Qassem Solemani and an Iraqi extremist sympathetic to the Iranian regime in a cell phone messaging app belonging to Matar. Soleimani was a senior Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. From 1998 until his assassination in 2020.

Reacting to Salman Rushdie being stabbed, Independent Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal remarked, "Hate breeds violence. We must show zero tolerance towards hate. This is an attack on: Free speech, on the cultural of tolerance and all that humanity stands for unacceptable."

Author Taslima Nasreen stated, "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." 

Speaking to Republic TV, author Tarek Fatah observed, "This incident (attack on Salman Rushdie) is ridiculous. Radical elements should be dealt with". 

Rushdie has suffered years of death threats over his 1988 book "The Satanic Verses" which was criticised by many Muslims and considered blasphemous. The book was banned in Iran and its late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death. He also announced a bounty of $3 million for anyone who kills Rushdie. In the United States, the FBI was notified of 78 threats to bookshops in early March 1989. Some bookstores were also attacked. In the United Kingdom, two large bookstores were bombed on April 9, 1989. 

The death threats and fatwas led Rushdie to go into hiding under the UK government's protection program, including a round-the-clock armed guard. He appeared in the late 1990s after nine years of isolation and cautiously resumed more public appearances. Rushdie published a memoir called "Joseph Anton" in 2012 about the decree. The title came from the pseudonym Rushdie had used while in hiding. The same year, the bounty for Rushdie was raised from $2.8 million to $3.3 million by a semi-official Iranian religious foundation.

Iran's government has long distanced itself from the fatwa. The Index on Censorship, an organization promoting free speech, said that the fatwa for his death still stands and the bounty was raised as recently as 2016.

"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," Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor to the President of the US said.

Reacting to the attack on celebrated author Salman Rushdie, French president Emmanuel Macron remarked, "For 33 years, Salman Rushdie has embodied freedom and the fight against obscurantism. He has just been the victim of a cowardly attack by the forces of hatred and barbarism. His fight is our fight; it is universal. Now more than ever, we stand by his side." 

As the acclaimed Satanic Verses novelist, Salman Rushdie became the victim of an on-stage assault, stabbed in midst of a packed amphitheatre at an event in New York, the incident draws focus on the Japanese scholar Hitoshi Igarashi, 44 as 'history repeats itself.' Igarashi was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the year 1991. The scholar of Arabic and Persian literature and history had translated Salman Rushdie’s much-irked book on Islamic theology The Satanist Verses.

"Scholars can't be worried about what will happen to them as a result of their work," Igarashi, a profound academician said in interviews as he had become the world's first Japanese translator of Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses. And his murder remains unsolved. Former CIA analyst and National Security Council staff members told the press that they believed the Iranians were responsible for Igarashi’s murder and that the cold murder cases may have been provoked by Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa against Rushdie. 

Author of the award-winning book No Friend But the Mountains who was imprisoned for six years in Australia’s illegal offshore detention regime in Papua New Guinea has condemned Rushdie's attack. He warned that the dictators now have a global outreach "to challenge security" and curb the freedom of speech. 

UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss who is in the race to become the next PM of the UK condemned the attack on Salman Rushdie.

Man who stabbed Salman Rushdie Hadi Matar a resident of New Jersey, was taken into custody. He had knifed the author in the neck and abdomen at the Chautauqua Institution, New York State Trooper James O’Callaghan told a press conference. 

The New York State Police identified the suspect in the attack on Salman Rushdie as Hadi Matar, age 24 from New Jersey. Rushdie was airlifted to the hospital after being stabbed at least once in the neck & once in the abdomen. He was provided medical treatment by a doctor in the audience. He is currently undergoing surgery. The alleged attacker is currently in custody. He had a pass to be on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution's lecture. He has not been formally charged. The charges will depend on Rushdie's condition. He is currently hospitalized in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The New York State Police said, "We are in the process of obtaining search warrants. There was a bag and some electronic devices on the spot. We are at a very early stage of the investigation. Members of the FBI are helping us with the investigation."

Police has beefed up the security at UPMC Hamot hospital in Erie where Rushdie is undergoing surgery. Erie Police Deputy Chief William Marucci II told reporters from the Buffalo News that there has been a lockdown at the hospital and that the officers were ensuring the security of the premises. 

Author Rushdie who was attacked with a knife is on a ventilator and could not speak, his agent, Andrew Wylie, said in an update on his condition shortly before 7 pm on Friday to news agencies.  “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," he said. 

Maj. Eugene J. Staniszewski of the New York State Police has said that assailant Matar’s motive to attack Rushdie was still unknown and that his agency was investigating with the FBI and the local sheriff’s office. Police are in process of getting search warrants for a backpack and for electronic devices that Matar left at the institution.  It is not clear whether he worked with anyone else, and his nationality is still unknown. 

Man accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie on a stage in western New York on Friday was identified by the police as the 24-year-old man from Fairview, New Jersey. Hadi Matar, 24, stabbed Rushdie, 75, who was about to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution. The assailant stabbed the author at least once in the neck and the stomach, Maj Eugene Staniszewski of New York state police major said.

UK Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss condemned the "disgraceful" attack on author Salman Rushdie. "People must be able to speak freely and freedom of speech must be defended," she tweeted. 

New York State Police has announced that it will be holding a briefing to provide more details on the attack on Salman Rushdie. 

Salman Rushdie had been living in the hiding since his Iranian death sentence in 1989, roughly six months after he published his book “The Satanic Verses." Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran issued a fatwa on Feb. 14, 1989, after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. A bounty was placed on his head by the Supreme Leader of Iran.

On Friday, hardline Islamic Iranians celebrated the attack saying that Ayatollah’s fatwa was finally delivered.  Rushdie was “fired like a bullet that won’t rest until it hits its target," they said on social media referring to Iran's Supreme leader's quote. “This deserves congratulation: God willing, we will celebrate Salman Rushdie going to hell soon,” Keyvan Saedy, a conservative Iranian pundit was quoted as saying by NYTimes from the Iranian Twitter.

Author Ian McEwan on Saturday was appalled by the brutal attack on Rushdie: “This appalling attack on my dear friend Salman represents an assault on freedom of thought and speech. These are the freedoms that underpin all our rights and liberties. Salman has been an inspirational defender of persecuted writers and journalists across the world. He is a fiery and generous spirit, a man of immense talent and courage, and he will not be deterred," he wrote. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul informed on Twitter that the State Police has been probing the assault incident involving literary figure Salman Rushdie, several eyewitnesses relayed account of the attack as it happened. “There was just one attacker,” said Elisabeth Healey, 75, who was in the audience told NYTimes. “He was dressed in black. He had a loose black garment on. He ran with lightning speed over to him.” “It was very frightening and it gave me a pit in my stomach,” said Jane Bulette, 68, who has been coming for more than a decade. “How could they not have blocked off the stairs to the stage?”

“There was a huge security lapse,” said Bulette’s husband, John, 85, also an eyewitness said. “That somebody could get that close without any intervention was frightening.”

Salman Rushdie is in surgery, his agent has reportedly informed news agencies. More information on his condition is awaited. Andrew Wylie, of The Wylie Agency, handed the update in an email to news outlets. ‘The Satanic Verses’ author was stabbed in the neck multiple times while at a literary event. New York Governor Kathy Hochul had said Rushdie was “alive” and getting the care that he needs. 

As notable author Salman Rushdie was brutally stabbed onstage, the incident sparked outpouring of shock from writers and fellow novellists. Horror novellist Stephen King wrote: “I hope Salman Rushdie is okay.” Neil Gaiman wrote: “I’m shocked and distressed to see my friend @SalmanRushdie has been attacked before a talk. He’s a good man and a brilliant one and I hope he’s okay.”

Writer Jeff Sharlet expressed shock, as he wrote: “Very sad to hear about Rushdie, for all the obvious reasons & because in my very limited interaction w/ him he’s far more of a mensch than many superstar writers. When he came to Dartmouth he was amazingly generous with his time w/ undergrads. Hope he recovers quickly.” Meanwhile author Sathnam Sanghera commented: “Salman Rushdie. Passage from Midnight’s Children in my last ever exam. Poster of The Moor’s Last Sigh had place on my (pretentious) student bedroom wall. Quote from Satanic Verses opens EmpireLand. Lots of British Asian writers wouldn’t be writers without him. Pray he’s well.”

Reacting on the knife assault on Satanic Verses author, Harry Porter novelist JK Rowling expressed grief. “Horrifying news,” Rowling tweeted. “Feeling very sick right now. Let him be ok.” 

After the release of Salman Rushdie's book 'The Satanic Verses' in 1989, Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for his death. The book is banned in Iran since 1988, as many Muslims consider it to be blasphemous. 

Following the rising death threats, Rushdie soon went into hiding under the UK government's protection program, including a round-the-clock armed guard. It was in the late 1990s when he started making appearances after being out of the public eye for nine years.  

In 2012, he published a memoir called "Joseph Anton" about the decree. The title came from the pseudonym Rushdie had used while in hiding. The same year, the bounty for Rushdie was raised from $2.8 million to $3.3 million by a semi-official Iranian religious foundation.

"Appalled that Sir Salman Rushdie has been stabbed while exercising a right we should never cease to defend", outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted. "Right now my thoughts are with his loved ones. We are all hoping he is okay".

"I'm shocked and distressed to see my friend Salman Rushdie has been attacked before a talk", English author Neil Gaiman tweeted. "He's a good man and a brilliant one and I hope he's okay".

"Shocked to hear of the attack on Salman Rushdie in New York", contender for UK's Prime Ministership Rishi Sunak tweeted. "A champion of free speech and artistic freedom. He’s in our thoughts tonight".

Salman Rushdie was present at the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York on August 12 for a special Chautauqua Lecture Series event exploring the Week Seven theme of 'More than Shelter'. He was joined by Henry Reese, co-founder of the Pittsburgh nonprofit City of Asylum, the largest residency program in the world for writers living in exile under threat of persecution.

The lecture was also meant for a discussion of the United States as an asylum for writers and other artists in exile and as a home for freedom of creative expression.

The pictures of the attacker who stabbed author Salman Rushdie have surfaced after he was nabbed the security. After being detained, he was taken out of the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York where Rushdie was about to deliver a lecture. 

According to AP, Rushdie has a bounty of $3.3 million on his head for his book “The Satanic Verses”. This book is banned in Iran since 1988, as many Muslims consider it to be blasphemous.

Ahmed Salman Rushdie was born on June 19, 1947, in Mumbai but he has been living in the US since 2000.

An author of 14 novels, Salman Rushdie is a renowned novelist who won the Booker Prize for “Midnight’s Children" which was released in 1981. However, he shot to fame with “The Satanic Verses", which also resulted in a fatwa against him. Among his famous novels are Shame, The Satanic Verses, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, The Moor’s Last Sigh, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Fury, Shalimar the Clown, The Enchantress of Florence, Luka and the Fire of Life, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights, and The Golden House, Grimus and Quichotte.

In 1983, Rushdie was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was appointed Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France in 1999. In 2007, he was knighted for his services to Literature. In 2008, The Times ranked him 13th on its list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul confirmed that author Salman Rushdie is alive and has been transported to a local hospital in New York. She further confirmed that the event moderator was also injured in the attack which transpired at the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York during Rushdie's lecture.

American author Stephen King tweeted for the well-being of fellow author Salman Rushdie who got hospitalised after an attack during his lecture in New York. "I hope Salman Rushdie is Okay", King wrote in his tweet.

Scottish Historian William Dalrymple called the attack on Salman Rushdie "a terrible day for literature" as well as for freedom of speech and for authors everywhere. "Poor poor Salman: I pray he's not hurt and recovers quickly", Dalrymple added. 

According to the Associated Press, Rushdie was stabbed around 15-20 times in an attack that lasted for around 20 seconds, said a person in the audience. "This guy ran on to platform and started pounding on Mr. Rushdie. At first you’re like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then it became abundantly clear in a few seconds that he was being beaten,” a person told AP. 

Soon after the attack, Rushdie was airlifted to the hospital as he suffered injuries in the neck and has been transported to a trauma center. The details of his overall conditions will soon be revealed. 

Renowned author and creator of the Harry Potter series JK Rowling took to Twitter to express her grief over the attack on Salman Rushdie. "Horrifying news. Feeling very sick right now. Let him be ok", tweeted Rowling.

Rushdie was stabbed by a man while delivering a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York. He is said to have sustained injuries in the neck. 

Salman Rushdie, the author whose writing led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was attacked Friday as he was about to give a lecture in western New York.

An Associated Press reporter witnessed a man storm the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and begin punching or stabbing Rushdie as he was being introduced. The 75-year-old author was pushed or fell to the floor, and the man was restrained.

Rushdie was quickly surrounded by a small group of people who held up his legs, presumably to send more blood to his chest.

His condition was not immediately known.

Hundreds of people in the audience gasped at the sight of the attack and were then evacuated.

Rushdie’s book “The Satanic Verses” has been banned in Iran since 1988, as many Muslims consider it to be blasphemous. A year later, Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s death.

A bounty of over $3 million has also been offered for anyone who kills Rushdie.

Iran’s government has long since distanced itself from Khomeini’s decree, but anti-Rushdie sentiment has lingered. In 2012, a semi-official Iranian religious foundation raised the bounty for Rushdie from $2.8 million to $3.3 million.

Rushdie dismissed that threat at the time, saying there was “no evidence” of people being interested in the reward.

That year, Rushdie published a memoir, “Joseph Anton,” about the fatwa. The title came from the pseudonym Rushdie had used while in hiding.

Rushdie rose to prominence with his Booker Prize-winning 1981 novel “Midnight’s Children,” but his name became known around the world after “The Satanic Verses.”

The Chautauqua Institution, about 55 miles southwest of Buffalo in a rural corner of New York, is known for its summertime lecture series. Rushdie has spoken there before.

(AP)

The New York State Police confirmed the arrest of a male attacker who stormed the stage and wounded Rushdie in the neck. The NYSP further revealed that the interviewer was also injured on the head and currently the status of Rushdie is not fully known.