In the summer, the world was stunned by the shocking assassination plot against the renowned human rights advocate and author Salman Rushdie, which happened in New York during a speaking engagement. On the 12th of August, the assassin, who was a terrorist, used a knife to attack Rushdie as well as beat him up, and those who were close to the author said on the spot that one of the injuries could take one of his eyes.
We also reported that the attacker was 24 years old. Hadi Matar “pleaded not guilty Saturday to charges of second-degree attempted murder and assault and was held without bail,” according to multiple reports.
A colleague from the sister website PJ Media, columnist Matt Margolis, wrote in a piece published earlier on Sunday that the agent for the author told a Spanish publication new details about Salman Rushdie's health, and it's much worse than we would have thought:
“[His wounds] were profound, but he's [also] lost the sight of one eye,” Wylie said. Wylie. “He was afflicted with three serious injuries on his neck. One hand is paralyzed due to the nerves that run through the arms were chopped. There are 15 more injuries in the chest and the torso. This was a horrific attack.”
Wylie did not provide any further information beyond that Rushdie is expected to survive.
Indeed, the newspaper El Pais, through The New York Post, reports that to protect the man's safety, “[t]he agent declined to say whether Rushdie is still being treated at the hospital.”
But something else Wylie told the publication was chilling, when he referenced the assassination of singer and activist John Lennon-coincidentally, also in New York:
“I believe that the incident was likely something Salman and I had discussed in the past. The idea was that the main threat that he had to face for several years after the Fatwa was made was from an unintentional person appearing out of thin air and threatening him.'
“So you're not able to protect yourself against it because it's totally unplanned and absurd. It's as if John Lennon had been murdered,” he added.
