London:
Salman Rushdie’s family are “extremely relieved” that he was taken off a ventilator after his stabbing, and the British author has retained his “rebellious sense of humour”, his son said on Sunday.
“We are very relieved that he was taken off the ventilator and supplemental oxygen yesterday and was able to say a few words,” his son Zafar tweeted.
Rushdie’s agent Andrew Wylie said earlier Sunday that Rushdie was on the “road to recovery” two days after being stabbed multiple times in a shocking attack on a literary event in upstate New York.
Zafar said that despite the promising news, his father’s injuries were “life-changing” and “serious” and that he remained in critical condition.
But “his usual snappy and defiant sense of humor remains intact,” he added.
Zafar thanked the audience for “bravely leaping to his defense” and for the “outpouring of love and support from around the world”.
A family statement… @SalmanRushdie#SalmanRushdiepic.twitter.com/tMrAkoqliq
— Zafar Rushdie (@ZafRushdie) August 14, 2022
The cop said earlier that Rushdie could lose an eye; he also sustained injuries to the abdomen.
The author was under police protection for years after Iranian leaders called for him to be killed for his portrayal of Islam and the prophet Mohammed in his novel “The Satanic Verses”.
He was about to address the event in western New York state when a man stormed onto the stage and stabbed him repeatedly in the neck and stomach.
The suspected attacker, Hadi Matar, 24, was wrestled to the ground by staff and other onlookers before being taken into police custody.
He was arraigned in court on Saturday and pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.
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