Salman Rushdie, an author, survived serious injuries from Friday’s attack and was reportedly taken off a ventilator to allow him to breathe on his own. He was even able to joke around on Sunday.
On Twitter Sunday, Rushdie’s son, Zafar, broke his public silence on his father’s brutal attack.
“My father remains in critical condition in hospital receiving extensive ongoing medical treatment. We are extremely relieved that yesterday he was taken off the ventilator and [with] additional oxygen and he was able to say a few words. Though his life changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty & defiant sense of humour remains intact.”
Zafar went on to thank doctors, police, first responders and bystanders for rushing to his father’s aid.
This comes after “The Satanic Verses”Author was set to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institute on Friday when Hadi Matar, 24, rushed onto the stage and repeatedly stabbed him. Doctors predict that the 75-year old author will lose one eye. He also had a damaged liver, multiple stab wounds in his stomach, and severed nerves in the arm.
Madi pleaded guilty at Saturday’s arraignment to second-degree attempted killing and second-degree assault with the intent to cause bodily injury with a deadly instrument. He was not allowed to bail.
Officials are looking into whether Rushdie’s decades-old fatwa that the Ayatollah Khomeini placed upon him for his writings, which many Muslims consider controversial, was the motive for the attack. There has been a $3 million bounty on Rushdie’s head since the 1980s.
CNN Madi was informed by Nathaniel Barone, his attorney.
Madi’s next court appearance is on Friday.
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