Salman Rushdie attack suspect pleads not guilty to attempted murder
by 0 The man accused of stabbing Sir Salman Rushdie on stage last week has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges.
Hadi Matar, 24, was held without bail during a court hearing in New York state on Thursday.
Sir Salman was stabbed around 12 times, including in the face and neck, last Friday as he was about to deliver a lecture near Lake Erie.
The British-Indian author suffered severe and “life-changing” injuries in the attack in New York state, his family said.
However, the 75-year-old is on the way to recovery, according to a medical update given by his agent days ago.
Matar is accused of trying to murder Sir Salman on Friday moments before the author was about to deliver a lecture on stage at an educational retreat.
He has been charged with one count of second-degree attempted murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, and one count of second-degree assault.
He has been in jail since his arrest and wore a grey-striped jumpsuit, a white COVID-19 face mask and his hands were shackled.
His next court appearance was scheduled for 22 September.
Writers and politicians around the world decried the stabbing as an attack on freedom of expression.
Sir Salman’s book The Satanic Verses was banned in 1988 in a number of countries with large Muslim populations, including Iran, after it was considered by some to contain blasphemous passages.
In 1989, Iran’s then leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the author’s death.
A semi-official Iranian foundation had posted a bounty of more than three million US dollars (£2.5 million).
