Freedom of speech does not justify Rushdie’s insults to religion in his writings, Nasser Kanani said at a press conference on Monday. Iran had no information about Rushdie’s alleged assailant other than what had appeared in the media, he added. On Monday, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Iran’s stance was “ridiculous.” “It is clearly ludicrous to suggest that Salman Rushdie was in any way responsible for this despicable attack,” they said. “It was not just an attack on him, it was an attack on the right to freedom of speech and expression. And the UK government stands by both him and his family, but we too will stand up for freedom of speech around the world.” Vice News reported on Sunday that before his arrest, the suspect, Hadi Matar, was said to have had contact at some point with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of Iran’s military, citing European and Middle Eastern intelligence sources. The report also said there was no evidence that Iranian officials were involved in organizing the attack on Rushdie. The award-winning author spent years under police protection after Iranian leaders called for his assassination for his portrayal of Islam and the prophet Muhammad in his novel The Satanic Verses. He was about to be interviewed as part of a lecture series on Friday when a man rushed the stage and stabbed him repeatedly. “Rushdy’s road to recovery has begun,” but “it will be a long one,” the novelist’s agent said Sunday. “The injuries are serious,” the agent, Andrew Wylie, said in an email to the Guardian, referring to stab wounds the author had sustained to his neck, stomach, eyes, chest and thigh two days earlier. “But his condition is headed in the right direction.” Hadi Matar, 24, arrives at the Chautauqua County Courthouse on Saturday. Photo: Gene J Puskar/AP The Indian-born British novelist remained in hospital on Sunday in a critical condition but had been taken off a ventilator, allowing him to speak and prove that “his usual crazy and provocative sense of humor remains intact”, his son Zafar Rushdie said . in a separate statement. However, Zafar added that his father’s injuries were “life-changing”. Start your day with the top stories from the US, plus the day’s must-reads from across the Guardian Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. On Saturday, Matar pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault in a brief court appearance where he was denied bail. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Sunday that Iranian state institutions had fomented violence against Rushdie for generations, and state media glorified his assassination attempt. “This is despicable,” Blinken said in a statement. “The United States and our partners will not waver in our resolve to counter these threats, using every appropriate tool at our disposal.” New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke at the Chautauqua Foundation, where Rushdie was stabbed, condemning the “cowardly attack” and claiming that “a man with a knife cannot silence a man with a pen.” Rushdie lived in hiding and under police protection for years after the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa in 1989 calling for his death in retaliation for the Satanic Verses. Many Muslims interpreted the author’s book as blasphemous because it included a character they found offensive to the prophet Muhammad. Rushdie, 75, was at the foundation to speak about the importance of US asylum for exiled writers when he was attacked, and had recently said he believed his life was “very normal again”. On Saturday, District Attorney Jason Schmidt alleged that Rushdie’s accused assailant had taken steps to put himself in a position to harm Rushdie by getting advance permission for the event where the writer was speaking and arriving a day early with a fake ID . “This was a targeted, unprovoked, premeditated attack on Mr. Rushdie,” Schmidt said. 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.” “He has that constitutional right of presumption of innocence,” Barone said. Rushdie was stabbed repeatedly before the alleged assailant was tackled by spectators, staff at the institution and two local police officers who provided security. A helicopter crew flew Rushdie to a hospital in nearby Erie, Pennsylvania. “We are so grateful to all members of the public who bravely rushed to his defense and provided first aid alongside the police and medics who attended to him,” Zafar Rushdie’s statement added. Rushdie had 10 stab wounds: three stab wounds to the right front of his neck, four more to his stomach, one to his right eye and chest, and a cut to his right thigh. He suffered a damaged liver and severed nerves in an arm and eye, Wylie said Friday night, adding that he would likely lose the injured eye. The attack was met with shock and outrage from much of the world, along with tributes and praise for Rushdie. .
