Salman Rushdie.Photo: David Levenson/Getty
Salman Rushdiehas reportedly lost sight in one eye and lost the use of one of his hands after he was attacked and stabbed on stage at a literary festival at New York State’s Chautauqua Institution back in August.
The famed author’s literary agent Andrew Wylie revealed Rushdie’s condition while giving an update on his health status in a new interview with Spanish language newspaperEl Paispublished Friday.
Hadi Matar, 24, of New Jersey has since been jailed and pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault. Ralph Henry Reese hurt was also hurt in the incident as well, with a minor head injury.
Previously,New York State police saidthat Rushdie suffered more than one stab wounds, “at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen.”
The Indian-born British-American novelist was sent to a Pennsylvania hospital and treated with a ventilator.
David Levenson/Getty
Wylie did not elaborate on Rushdie’s whereabouts now, tellingEl Paisthat he couldn’t disclose where Rushdie was at the time of the interview.
He also told the outletthat the attack was something you “can’t protect against” since it was “totally unexpected and illogical,” and ultimately came from a “random person coming out of nowhere.”
“He’s going to live … That’s the important thing,” Wylie said, comparing the attack to the murder of musicianJohn Lennonin 1980.
Wylie did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further comment.
Days after the attack in August, the author’s son Zafar Rushdie said his father was removed from the ventilator he was put on, remaining in critical condition in the hospital and “receiving extensive ongoing medical treatment.”
“We are extremely relieved that yesterday he was taken off the ventilator and additional oxygen and he was able to say a few words,” Zafar shared in a statement at the time. “Though his life changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty & defiant sense of humor remains intact.”
Djamilla Rosa Cochran/WireImage
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In a statement after the attack, PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said, “PEN America is reeling from shock and horror at the word of a brutal, premeditated attack on our former President and stalwart ally, Salman Rushdie.”
“We can think of no comparable incident of a public attack on a literary writer on American soil,” the statement continued.
source: people.com
