British writer Salman Rushdie, who was seriously injured in a knife attack, is showing signs of improvement. The 75-year-old author, who is in a clinic in Erie, Pennsylvania, is disconnected from the fan and has started talking, reports the New York Times on Sunday, Aug. 14, quoting Rushdie’s agent Andrew Wylie.

Meanwhile, investigations are ongoing into the alleged attacker, 24-year-old Hadi Matar, a resident of New Jersey. He was held without bail and charged with attempted murder. In New York court, he refused to plead guilty. The motives of Rushdie’s attacker, who was born in California to Lebanese parents, are still unknown. NBC New York television, citing sources in the investigation, said the accused’s social media activity indicated his sympathy for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Shiite extremism, while direct contacts with the Iranian leadership had yet to be identified.

Rushdie’s attempted murder is condemned around the world

The attempted assassination of Salman Rushdie was condemned worldwide as an attack on freedom of expression. In a statement released Aug. 13, US President Joe Biden said Rushdie and his work embody universal ideals. “Truth. Courage. Resilience. The ability to share ideas without fear. These are the building blocks of any free and open society,” he emphasized.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell tweetedthat “international condemnation of such criminal acts that violate fundamental rights and freedoms is the only way to a better and freer world”. German Interior Minister Nancy Feather has blamed Rushdie for the assassination attempt, including on Iranian authorities, who have been hounding the writer and threatening him with death for decades.

Attack on Salman Rushdie

On August 12, Salman Rushdie, 75, was stabbed in the neck and stomach when he was attacked onstage before starting a performance at the Chautauqua Institute in New York state. The male aggressor was captured by the event’s participants and handed over to the police, his motives are still unknown. Rushdie was airlifted to the hospital and operated on. According to his agent, the writer will likely lose an eye, he also suffered hand and liver injuries.

Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses, written in 1988, caused outrage among many Muslims who saw the book as an insult to the Prophet Muhammad. Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini publicly cursed Rushdie in his fatwa and sentenced him to death. A multi-million bounty has been announced for Rushdie’s head in Iran. For a long time the writer was forced into hiding, his book was banned in several countries. For several years, Rushdie was under constant surveillance by Scotland Yard agents. In 2002, the British government received tacit assurances from Iran for the writer’s safety, and the protection was withdrawn.