Author Salman Rushdie, seriously injured after being stabbed on Friday while preparing to give a talk in western New York, was able to speak a few words on Saturday and is no longer on life support, his agent said. .
The state of health of the British writer, aged 75, stabbed at least ten times in the neck and abdomen, remains worrying.
Salman Rushdie has been threatened with death since a "fatwa" from Iran in 1989, a year after the publication of the "Satanic Verses".
His assailant, Hadi Matar, 24, a young American of Lebanese origin, was brought before a New York state judge on Saturday, before whom he pleaded "not guilty" to "attempted murder".
Prosecutors said Friday's attack was premeditated.
During a procedural hearing at the Chautauqua court, Hadi Matar, prosecuted for "attempted murder and assault", appeared in a black and white striped prison uniform, handcuffed and masked, and did not say a word, d 'after the New York Times and local press photos.