Author Salman Rushdie Is Blind In One Eye & Has Lost Use Of Hand After Brutal Stabbing In NYC
Oct. 24 2022, Published 8:00 p.m. ET
The extent of author Salman Rushdie's medical injuries after being stabbed at an event in New York City has been revealed. Rushdie has lost sight in one eye and can only use one hand after suffering extensive injuries from the stabbing attack in August, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Rushdie suffered 15 “deep” wounds from his attacker, Hadi Matar, who rushed the stage to commit the vile attack at an event for Rushdie’s novel, The Satanic Verses. Rushdie had previously received death threats over the controversial book.
In his first interview since the public attack, his agent, Andrew Wylie, shared a medical update on the 75-year-old author’s condition.
After undergoing emergency surgery for his injuries that were witnessed in front of a terrified crowd, Wylie has confirmed that Rushdie is recovering from life-altering injuries that left him blind in one eye and without the use of one of his hands.
“He suffered three serious neck injuries and lost mobility in one hand because the nerves were cut by the stab wounds,” Wylie revealed to the Spanish paper, El Pais, “And he suffered another 15 injuries to his chest and torso. So it was a brutal attack.”
While keeping a tight lip, Wylie offered a positive outlook on Rushdie’s current condition.
Without elaborating on if Rushdie remains in the hospital, the novelist’s agent stated that his client “will survive.”
Under a longstanding death warrant issued by Iran, also known as a fatwa, Wylie explained that an attack was never out of mind for Rushdie.
“The principal danger that he faced so many years after the fatwa was imposed is from a random person coming out of nowhere and attacking [him],” Wylie explained in his interview.
“So, you can't protect against that because it's totally unexpected and illogical. It was like John Lennon['s murder],” the agent commented on the potential of a random attack that has loomed over Rushdie since the 1980s when the fatwa was first ordered.
At the time of the assault, Iran media outlets celebrated the violent act against the author and commended his attacker.
Controversial Iranian newspaper Kayhan applauded the acts of Matar. The newspaper's chief, Hossein Shariatmadari, described Rushdie as “depraved.”
“Bravo to this courageous and duty-conscious man who attacked the apostate and depraved Salman Rushdie in New York,” said Shariatmadari at the time of the attack. “Let us kiss the hands of the one who tore the neck of the enemy of God with a knife.”
Matar, a 24-year-old from New Jersey, sympathized with the Iranian regime’s threats against Rushdie, which alleged the author insulted the Prophet of Islam through his works — notably his fourth book and reason for the New York City event, The Satanic Verses.
Decades before the NYC attack, Rushdie was forced into hiding for his own safety due to an overwhelming amount of death threats and harassment.
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