Salman Rushdie stabbing suspect pleads not guilty to attempted murder

The suspect, Hadi Matar, 24 was held without bail during a court hearing in New York.

Salman, 75, was about to deliver a lecture in Chautauqua on Friday before he was stabbed on Friday (August 12).

He is being treated in a Pennsylvania hospital for severe wounds and, despite 'life-changing' injuries, has retained his 'usual feisty and defiant sense of humour', his family previously said.

The 24-year-old, of Fairview, New Jersey, allegedly rushed on to the stage at, stabbing Salman multiple times in front of a crowd.

Andrew Wylie, literacy agent, said: "Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged."

Notably, he was taken off a ventilator on Saturday.

Rushdie, is known for his works such as The Satanic Verses, Midnight's Children and The Golden House.

The 75-year-old has experienced years of Islamist death threats after publishing his book The Satanic Verses in 1988.

Some Muslims felt the content of the book to be blasphemous, and it was banned in some countries due to the controversy.