Salman Rushdie attack: suspect charged with murder, pleads not guilty

The 24-year-old man suspected to stabbing author Salman Rushdie has pleaded not guilty to the charges of attempted murder and assault.

Hadi Matar from New Jersey has been sent to a county jail in New York and he will be held there without bail.

Matar was arrested after he allegedly rushed on the stage just as Salman Rushdie was about to deliver a lecture and stabbed him in the neck and abdomen.

The author underwent surgery after the attack and is on a ventilator.

Rushdie has suffered a damaged liver, severed nerves in an arm and an eye, according to a statement by his agent.

The suspect was born in the United States to Lebanese parents and according to reports his social media activities show that he admired the Iranian military.

Iran's Supreme Leader in 1989 had issued a fatwa against Rushdie for writing The Satanic Verses, a book considered blasphemous by many Muslims.

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