MAYVILLE, N.Y. (AP) - Salman Rushdie remained hospitalized Saturday after suffering serious injuries in a stabbing attack, which was met with shock and outrage from much of the world, along with tributes and praise for the award-winning author who for more than 30 years has faced death threats for his novel "The Satanic Verses."Rushdie, 75, suffered a damaged liver, severed nerves in an arm and an eye, and was on a ventilator and unable to speak, his agent Andrew Wylie said Friday evening.
Rushdie was likely to lose the injured eye.Rushdie's alleged attacker, Hadi Matar, was due in court on Saturday to face attempted murder and assault charges, authorities said.
A message was left with his lawyer seeking comment.Authors, activists and government officials condemned the attack and cited Rushdie's courage for his longtime advocacy of free speech despite the risks to his own safety.
Rushdie's fellow author and longtime friend Ian McEwan called him "an inspirational defender of persecuted writers and journalists across the world," and the actor-author Kal Penn cited him as a role model "for an entire generation of artists, especially many of us in the South Asian diaspora toward whom he’s shown incredible warmth."Matar, 24, was arrested after the attack at the Chautauqua Institution, a nonprofit education and retreat center where Rushdie was scheduled to speak.Authorities said Matar is from Fairview, New Jersey.