his son, zafar rushdie, has described his injuries as life—changing but says his usual feisty and defiantautauqua county jail have released a picture of the alleged attacker, 24—year—old hadi matar, who denies a charge of attempted murder. nomia iqbal reports from new york on sir salman�*s condition. the details of his condition have come through that statement from his son, zafar rushdie, which he released on twitter. he said that his father is still in a critical condition inside the hospital. he's been taken off the ventilator. he's able to breathe unaided. and he did say a few words. zafar rushdie did go on to say that the injuries are life—changing and just to repeat what you said there, to quote him, he said that his father's usual and defiant sense of humour remains intact. he also paid tribute to the audience members who jumped into action that day on friday at the literary event where mr rushdie was due to speak and helped mr rushdie. he was taken from that new york event, the neighbouring state of pennsylvania, and helicoptered here to the hospital where, as his son has said, he

zafar rushdie did go on to say that the injuries are life—changing and just to repeat what you said there usual and defiant sense of humour remains intact. he also paid tribute to the audience members who jumped into action that day on friday at the literary event where mr rushdie was due to speak and helped mr rushdie. he was taken from that new york event, the neighbouring state of pennsylvania, and helicoptered here to the hospital where, as his son has said, he remains in critical condition. earlier, mr rushdie�*s agent, andrew wylie, confirmed to us that mr rushdie was on the long road to recovery. so 24—year—old hadi matar has already appeared in court. he is accused of attempted murder and attempted assault of mr rushdie. he has pleaded not guilty to those charges. there's a lot of speculation and reports that are coming out about him, including his alleged sympathies with iran's revolutionary guards. so this is a major political and military force in the country. and, of course, it was iran's spiritual leader back in 1989 who issued this fatwa, who issued this death sentence on mr

in a statement, his son, zafar rushdie, said: we are extremely relieved that he was able to say a fewence members at the literary event on friday where is father was stabbed. they said he bravely leapt to his defence to help him. salman rushdie�*s agent told us he is on the long road to recovery. the writer suffered very serious injuries. he faces losing an eye and his liver is badly damaged. 24—year—old american suspect hadi matar has already appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to the charges of attempted murder and attempted assault. prosecutors allege he travelled by bus from newjersey to the event here in western new york. they say he bought a ticket, like everybody else, allowing him to attend the talk mr rushdie was due to give. for decades, salman rushdie went into hiding after his book, the satanic verses, led to iran issuing a fatwa in 1989. many muslims considered his writing blasphemous. it is reported that police think hadi matar may have had sympathies for the iranian regime, but an official motive has not been established. earlier, new york's state governor spoke ou

in a statement, his son, zafar rushdie, said: zafar also praised the audience members at the literarye his father was stabbed. he said they bravely leapt to his defence to help him. salman rushdie�*s agent told us he is on the long road to recovery. the writer suffered very serious injuries. he faces losing an eye and his liver is badly damaged. 24—year—old american suspect hadi matar has already appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to the charges of attempted murder and attempted assault. prosecutors allege he travelled by bus from newjersey to the event here in chautauqua, in western new york. they say he bought a ticket, like everybody else, allowing him to attend the talk mr rushdie was due to give. for decades, salman rushdie went into hiding after his book, the satanic verses, led to iran issuing a fatwa in 1989. many muslims considered his writing blasphemous. it is reported that police think hadi matar may have had sympathies for the iranian regime, but an official motive has not been established. earlier, new york's state governor spoke outside the institution where the s

in a statement, his son, zafar rushdie, said: zafar also praised the audience members at the literarywhere his father was stabbed. he said they bravely leapt to his defence to help him. salman rushdie�*s agent told us he is on the long road to recovery. the writer suffered very serious injuries. he faces losing an eye and his liver is badly damaged. 24—year—old american suspect hadi matar has already appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to the charges of attempted murder and attempted assault. prosecutors allege he travelled by bus from newjersey to the event here in chautauqua, in western new york. they say he bought a ticket, like everybody else, allowing him to attend the talk mr rushdie was due to give. for decades, salman rushdie went into hiding after his book, the satanic verses, led to iran issuing a fatwa in 1989. many muslims considered his writing blasphemous. it is reported that police think hadi matar may have had sympathies for the iranian regime, but an official motive has not been established. earlier, new york's state governor spoke outside the institution where t

his son, zafar rushdie, has in the last hour described his injuries as life changing but says his usualintact. we have just had this picture released of the alleged attacker. earlier, the author's agent said his recovery is heading in the right direction. nomia iqbal is at the hospital in erie pennsylvania where the satanic verses author is being treated and gave us this update. in a statement given to us at the bbc, salman rushdie's agent, andrew wylie, said the following, which i will quote verbatim. "he's off the ventilator, so the road to recovery has begun. "it will be long. "the injuries are severe, but his condition is headed "in the right direction." and just a reminder of those injuries. salman rushdie is thought to likely lose an eye, the nerves in one of his arms are severed, and also his liver has been badly damaged. now, in terms of the suspect, the man accused of attempting to murder and assault him, 24—year—old hadi matar, who is an american citizen, he's already appeared in court. he's pleaded not guilty to all the charges. and there's been lots of speculations and repor

off a ventilator and has spoken for the first time since he was stabbed several times his son, zafar rushdieg but says his usual feisty and defiant sense of humour remains intact. chautauqua county jail have released a picture of the alleged attacker, 24—year—old hadi matar. 0ur correspondent, nomia iqbal, is at the hospital where the satanic verses author is being treated. what more do we know about his condition? the what more do we know about his condition? ., , ., , condition? the details of his condition — condition? the details of his condition have _ condition? the details of his condition have come - condition? the details of his| condition have come through condition? the details of his - condition have come through that statement from his son. he released it on twitter and said his father is still in a critical condition inside the hospital, he has been taken off the hospital, he has been taken off the ventilator, he is able to breathe unaided and he did say a few words. he did go on to say that the injury is a life changing and just to repeat what you said there, he said that his

in a statement, his son zafar rushdie said the family were extremely relieved that he was able to say who were present at the event, who he said bravely leapt to his father's defence to help him. 45 minutes away in chautauqua, over in new york state, where the incident happened, the state's governor issued words of solidarity. we condemn the cowardly attack on salman rushdie, and we condemn any individual or any group that dares violate the sanctity of place like chautauqua. and i want it out there that a man with a knife cannot silence a man with a pen. the 24—year—old american suspect hadi matar has already appeared in court, and pleaded not guilty to the charges of attempted murder and attempted assault. prosecutors allege he travelled by bus from newjersey to the literary event. they say he bought a ticket like everybody else, allowing him to attend the talk mr rushdie was due to give. for decades, salman rushdie went into hiding after his book, the satanic verses, led to iran issuing a fatwa in 1989. many muslims considered his writing blasphemous. it's reported that police think

in a statement, his son zafar rushdie said the family were extremely relieved that he was able to saythough his father's life changing injuries were severe, his usual feisty and defiant sense of humour remains intact. zafar also praised the audience members who were present at the event, who he said bravely leapt to his father's defence to help him. 45 minutes away in chautauqua, over in new york state, where the incident happened, the state's governor issued words of solidarity. we condemn the cowardly attack on salman rushdie, and we condemn any individual or any group that dares violate the sanctity of place like chautauqua. and i want it out there that a man with a knife cannot silence a man with a pen. the 24—year—old american suspect hadi matar has already appeared in court, and pleaded not guilty to the charges of attempted murder and attempted assault. prosecutors allege he travelled by bus from newjersey to the literary event. they say he bought a ticket like everybody else, allowing him to attend the talk mr rushdie was due to give. for decades, salman rushdie went into hidi

>> tonight, the family of salman rushdie say they're relieved the famed author is off a ventilator and able to speak. after being stabbed on stage friday. his son zafar writing -- "though his injuries are severe, his usual feisty and defiant sense of humor remains intact." authorities say 75-year-old rushdie was about to speak at the chautauqua institution on friday when 24-year-old hadi matar rushed the stage, stabbing him at least 10 times. rushdie suffering severed nerves in his arm, a punctured liver, and is likely to lose an eye. also injured, henry reese, who was on stage when the attack happened. >> i mean, clearly. clearly the attack had some motivation. >> reporter: prosecutors say matar got an advance pass to the event, arriving a day before, carrying a fake driver's license. investigators calling the attack "an assassination attempt by an individual with strong indicators of ideological support for the iranian regime." >> certainly, if there's anybody that's an emblem of standing up to fear, he's it. >> reporter: rushdie's 1988 novel "the satanic verses" set off a firestorm in the islamic world, and death threats from the ayatollah. some i