The attorney for suspect Hadi Matar, 24, of New Jersey, did not elaborate on the charges because he had not yet seen the document. Prosecutors also did not comment further on the charges. A county court appearance is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday, defense attorney Nathaniel Barone said.
“We anticipated that the prosecutor would certainly present this matter for prosecution before any preliminary hearing” and so we are prepared for Thursday’s arraignment, Barone said.
Matar pleaded not guilty Saturday to charges of attempted second-degree murder and second-degree assault with intent to inflict bodily injury with a deadly weapon, and a preliminary hearing in the case had been set for Friday, he had said Baron. Rushdie — who has received death threats for his satirical 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses,” which some Muslims have deemed sacrilegious — was about to give a lecture Friday at the Chautauqua institution when an assailant jumped into the ‘stage and stabbed him repeatedly.
The 75-year-old perpetrator suffered three stab wounds to the neck, four stab wounds to the stomach, stab wounds to the right eye and chest and a laceration to the right thigh, the county district attorney said last weekend of Chautauqua, Jason Schmidt.
Rushdie could lose vision in his right eye, the district attorney added.
As of Monday, Rushdie was hospitalized but awake and “articulate” in his conversations with investigators, a law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation told CNN.
The authorities have not disclosed the reason for the attack.
Matar’s mother told the Daily Mail for a story published this week that her son was sociable and raised in the United States. But after taking a month-long trip to the Middle East in 2018, Matar returned as a “grumpy introvert,” said his mother, Silvana Fardos.
Fardos didn’t learn about the stabbing until the FBI raided his home in Fairview, New Jersey, he told the Daily Mail.
A religious decree for Rushdie’s death
Rushdie had lived in hiding after the publication of “The Satanic Verses”. The late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini described the book as an insult to Islam and the faith’s Prophet Muhammad. He issued a religious decree, or fatwa, calling for Rushdie’s death in 1989.
In 1998, the Iranian government tried to distance itself from the fatwa by promising not to try to carry it out. Despite this, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reaffirmed the religious edict.
In February 2017, on Khamenei’s official website, the Supreme Leader was asked if the “fatwa against Rushdie was still in effect”. Khamenei confirmed it was, saying, “The decree is as issued by Imam Khomeini.”
On Monday, the Iranian government denied links to the stabbing attack.
“We categorically and seriously deny any connection of the aggressor to Iran,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani.
“We do not consider anyone other than (Rushdie) and his supporters worthy of blame and even condemnation.”
The US condemns the Iranian government’s statement
The US State Department denounced Iran’s stance, calling the comments “despicable” and “repugnant”.
“It’s no secret that the Iranian regime has been instrumental in the threats against his life over the years,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
He described Iran’s “blame” over the attack as “absolutely outrageous”.
“We want to make it very clear that this is not something we can tolerate,” Price said.
Rushdie began living under British protection after Iran issued a fatwa calling for his death.
On Monday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was shocked by the attack on Rushdie, who is also a British citizen.
“Appalled that Sir Salman Rushdie has been stabbed while exercising a right we should never stop defending,” Johnson tweeted. “My thoughts are with his loved ones right now.”
CNN’s Mark Morales and Alex Stambaugh contributed to this report.