In a now-deleted tweet, fellow author Aatish Taseer said Mr. Rushdie was able to speak, which the famed author’s agent Andrew Wylie later confirmed to The Associated Press without elaborating. Michael E Hill, the president of the Chautauqua Institute tweeted: “@SalmanRushdie off ventilator and talking! Continued prayers from all @chq.” Mr Rushdie’s alleged assailant – 24-year-old New Jersey-based Hadi Matar – has been charged with attempted murder by the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office. He was charged with one count of attempted second-degree murder and one count of second-degree assault. He appeared in court on Saturday and pleaded not guilty. Mr. Matar was taken to the Chautauqua County Jail Friday night. President Joe Biden condemned the “savage” attack on Sir Rushdie at the Chautauqua Foundation, a non-profit education and retreat center, in a statement on Saturday afternoon. He wrote: “Jill and I were shocked and saddened to learn of the brutal attack on Salman Rushdie yesterday in New York. We, along with all Americans and people around the world, pray for his health and recovery. I am grateful to the first responders and the brave individuals who jumped into action to render aid to Rushdie and subdue the attacker. “Salman Rushdie – with his insight into humanity, with his unparalleled sense of history, with his refusal to be intimidated or silenced – represents essential, universal ideals. Truth. Courage. Elasticity. The ability to share ideas without fear. These are the building blocks of any free and open society. And today, we reaffirm our commitment to these deeply American values in solidarity with Rushdie and all those who defend freedom of expression.” (AP) (AP) The prosecutor is calling the attack a “premeditated” crime. Mr Matar appeared in court wearing a black and white jumpsuit and a white face mask. A judge ordered him held without bail after prosecutor Jason Schmidt told her that Matar, 24, had taken steps to put himself in a position to harm Mr Rushdie by getting advance permission for the event where the author was speaking and arrived a day early. a fake identity. Public defender Nathaniel Barone complained that authorities took too long to bring Matar before a judge, leaving him “glued to a bench in the state police barracks.” Rushdie, 75, suffered liver damage and severed nerves in an arm and eye, Mr Whalley said earlier, adding that he is likely to lose the injured eye. The attack was met with shock and outrage, along with tributes and praise for the award-winning author of The Satanic Verses, who has faced death threats for more than 30 years. Mr Rushdie, an Indian living in Britain and the US, is known for his surreal and satirical prose style, starting with the 1981 Booker Prize-winning novel Midnight’s Children, in which he sharply criticized the then prime minister of India. Indira Gandhi. The writer and long-time friend Ian McEwan called Mr Rushdie “an inspirational champion of persecuted writers and journalists around the world” and the actor-writer Kal Penn cited him as a role model “for a whole generation of artists, especially for many of us in South. Asian diaspora towards which he showed incredible warmth.” Author JK Rowling told her fans that the police were involved after a tweet about Mr Rushdie prompted a death threat on Twitter. After the attack, Rowling tweeted: “Horrifying news. I feel very sick right now. Let him be well.” The Satanic Verses drew death threats after its publication in 1988, with many Muslims viewing a dream sequence based on the life of the Prophet Muhammad as blasphemous, among other objections. Rushdie’s book had already been banned and burned in India, Pakistan and elsewhere before Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for his death in 1989. You can follow the latest updates on the incident here. Additional reporting by AP
