Salman Rushdie lost sight in one eye, use of hand after attack, reveals agent

Author Salman Rushdie has lost the sight in an eye and the use of a hand after he was stabbed multiple times – in the neck and torso, among other places – in a gruesome attack at a literary event in New York City in the United States earlier in August, his agent has reportedly revealed.

The Indian-born British writer, who faced death threats for his novel The Satanic Verses, was stabbed around 12 times, but the full extent of his injuries had been unclear til now.

Rushdie’s literary agent Andrew Wyle told Spanish newspaper El Pais that the 75-year-old’s injuries were “profound” and he had “lost the sight of one eye”.

“He had three serious wounds in his neck,” Wylie was quoted as saying.

“One hand is incapacitated because the nerves in his arm were cut. And he has about 15 more wounds in his chest and torso. So, it was a brutal attack,” he said.

Wylie, however, didn’t reveal if Rushdie remained in the hospital.

Rushdie was born in India to a Muslim Kashmiri family and has lived several years with a bounty on his head. He spent nine years in hiding and under British police protection. ‘The Satanic Verses’ – his fourth (and perhaps most controversial) book – was released in 1988.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s supreme leader, issued a ‘fatwa’ in 1989, calling for Salman Rushdie’s death; this was after the publication of ‘The Satanic Verses’.

A 24-year-old man, Hadi Matar, has been identified as the attacker. Following the attack, Iran denied any link with the attacker.