Sir Salman Rushdie has been taken off his ventilator and can talk after he… attacked in New York.
British-American writer Aatish Taseer tweeted that the author was “talking and joking,” though he later deleted his post.
But the news has now been confirmed by Sir Salman’s agent Andrew Wylie.
It comes in response to the news that he was stabbed about 12 times – including in the face and neck – while he was about to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institute.
The Chautauqua County District Attorney said one of the wounds caused a puncture to his eye, which his agent could lose.
The 75-year-old also sustained injuries to his abdomen, causing a puncture of his liver and other stab wounds to his abdomen and chest area.
Hadi Matar, 24, has been charged with attempted murder and assault. He has pleaded not guilty.
He appeared in court on Saturday in a black and white jumpsuit and white face mask, with his hands cuffed in front of him.
Prosecutors have suggested he orchestrated a “targeted, unprovoked, pre-planned attack.”
Prosecutor Jason Schmidt said the suspect deliberately put himself in a position where he could harm Sir Salman.
He was given an advance on the lecture and arrived a day early with a false ID, a judge was told.
Matar was ordered to be held without bail during the hearing.
It followed comments from public defender Nathaniel Barone, who said authorities had taken too long to get him before a judge as he left him “tucked up on a bench in the state police barracks.”
“He has that constitutional right of presumed innocence,” Barone said.
While the motives behind the attack remain unclear at this stage, Sir Salman has been a target since he released the novel The Satanic Verses.
The book was popular in the west, but sparked outrage in some Muslim countries and was accused of blasphemy.
Sir Salman lived under a British government protection program for years after Iran’s then leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for his death.
The Iranian government withdrew its support for the assassination in 1998, but the fatwa was not issued.
The Index on Censorship, an organization that promotes free speech, said money was raised in 2016 to increase the reward for Sir Salman’s murder.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he is “appalled that the author was stabbed while exercising a right that we should never cease to defend.”
Meanwhile, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday: “Today the country and the world witnessed a reprehensible attack on writer Salman Rushdie. This act of violence is terrible.
“All of us in the Biden-Harris administration pray for his speedy recovery. We are grateful to the good civilians and first responders for helping Mr. Rushdie so soon after the attack, and we are grateful to law enforcement for their prompt and effective work that is underway.”
Sir Salman is also known for Midnight’s Children, a novel about the birth of India that won the Booker Prize in 1981.
He was knighted in 2008 and earlier this year he was made a member of the Order of the Guests of Honor as part of the Queen’s Birthday.
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