The agent of the British writer of Indian origin, Salman Rushdie, revealed his health condition and said that the news about it was not good, and he was subject to artificial respiration, after he was exposed during a conference in western New York State, while the police identified the attacker.

The novelist's agent, Salman Rushdie, said that Rushdie is likely to lose one of his eyes, and has a nerve cut in one of his arms and damage to his liver after he was stabbed on Friday.

"The news is not good and it is possible that Salman will lose one of his eyes. The nerves in his hands have been severed, his liver has been stabbed and damaged," Agent Andrew Wylie said in a written statement.

undergoing surgery

On Friday, US police spokesman James O'Callaghan said at a news conference that writer Salman Rushdie is undergoing surgery after being attacked.

Police in New York state have identified the writer's attacker, Salman Rushdie, and stated that he is a 24-year-old American, and from New Jersey.

Its spokesman, James O'Callaghan, told a news conference that the motive for the crime was not yet clear.

NOW – Salman Rushdie is stabbed on stage in New York.pic.twitter.com/qFmYE6BC5E

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) August 12, 2022

Attack detail

Rushdie was attacked during a conference in New York and wounded in the neck, and immediately was taken by helicopter to the nearest hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery, according to what his agent Andrew Willey said on Twitter, promising to provide regular information about the health status of the 75-year-old novelist who has lived in New York for years. several.

Carl Levan, a political science professor who was in the hall, told AFP by phone that a man rushed to the podium where Rushdie was sitting and "stabbed him violently several times."

The witness said that the attacker "tried to kill Salman Rushdie."

An officer in charge of controlling the security of the lecture arrested the suspect, while Rushdi's interlocutor sustained a head injury.

Videos circulated on social media showed people rushing to the writer's help after he was assaulted.

Appalled that Sir Salman Rushdie has been stabbed while exercising a right we should never cease to defend.

Right now my thoughts are with his loved ones.

We are all hoping he is okay.

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) August 12, 2022

Johnson and Macron stand in solidarity

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the "appalling" attack on the British writer.

In a tweet, Johnson condemned the attack on Rushdie, "while exercising a right we must not stop defending", in reference to freedom of expression.

For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron announced his solidarity with Rushdie.

"For 33 years, Salman Rushdie has embodied freedom and the fight against obscurantism... His struggle is our struggle, a global struggle. Today, we stand with him more than ever," Macron wrote on Twitter.

Salman Rushdie (Reuters)

Satanic Verses

Rushdie, who is now 75, became famous after he released his second novel, "Midnight's Children" in 1981, which won international accolades and the Booker Literary Prize. The novel deals with India's march from British colonialism to independence and beyond.

But his novel "The Satanic Verses", which was published in 1988, sparked a great controversy, and was considered offensive to Islam, and as a result, the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa to waste his blood, and Iran offered more than 3 million dollars as a reward for whoever kills him.

Rushdie was forced to hide after that prize money was allocated in exchange for his killing, and the British government placed him under police protection.

Rushdie remained hidden for about a decade, and he changed his residence repeatedly and was unable to inform his children of his place of residence.

Rushdie did not resume his public appearances until the late 1990s, after Iran announced that it did not support his assassination.

Rushdie currently resides in New York and is an activist in the defense of freedom of expression, and he strongly defended the newspaper "Charlie Hebdo", which published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and provoked angry reactions in the Muslim world.