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Salman Rushdie (2018)
Photo: JOEL SAGET/ AFP
After the knife attack on Salman Rushdie, the British-Indian author is said to be on the mend.
According to reports, he is no longer artificially ventilated.
He was able to speak again on Saturday, according to the New York Times and the Guardian, citing his literary agent Andrew Wylie.
Rushdie continued to be treated at a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, according to US media.
Fellow writer Aatish Taseer wrote on Twitter that Rushdie was joking.
The tweet was apparently later deleted.
Rushdie was attacked Friday morning at an event in Chautauqua, in western New York State.
A few minutes earlier he had taken the stage to speak about persecuted artists.
The 75-year-old was operated on in the hospital 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.
Rushdie has been persecuted by religious fanatics for decades.
The then Iranian revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, had called for the author to be killed because of his work »The Satanic Verses« from 1988.
He accused Rushdie of insulting Islam, the Prophet and the Koran in his novel.
Among other things, the book features a character who resembles the Prophet Mohammed.
The criticism is that Rushdie questioned the divine origin of the Koran.
The death sentence was followed by Rushdie's dramatic escape and years of hiding.
He has now lived in New York for more than 20 years.
Suspected assassin pleads not guilty
The suspect was charged with attempted murder and assault, according to prosecutors.
The 24-year-old is therefore in custody.
Before a court he pleaded not guilty.
There was no further information on a motive for the crime.
However, the alleged assassin is said to have shown "sympathy for Shia extremism" in the past.
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.
The 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 Jair 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."
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) said: “Anyone who justifies this assassination attempt is spreading nothing but hatred and extremism.
Anyone who believes in peaceful coexistence must oppose this clearly and consistently.« Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wrote: »What a heinous act!«.
He wished the author a lot of strength for the recovery.
wit/dpa/AFP
