Salman Rushdie attack suspect pleads not guilty to attempted murder
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” injuriesin 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 Rushdie on Friday moments before the author was about to deliver a lecture on stage at the Chautauqua Institution educational retreat.
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, or edict, calling for the author’s death.
