Salman Rushdie 'lost sight in eye and use of hand' in attack, agent says

Rushdie was stabbed during event in upstate New York in August

British author Salman Rushdie. AP

Author Salman Rushdie has lost vision in one eye and has been left "incapacitated" in one hand after he was stabbed in upstate New York in August, his agent said.

Rushdie, 75, who had received several death threats after the publication of his The Satanic Verses, was stabbed several times in the neck and abdomen before he was due to give a talk in the state of New York.

He was then flown to a nearby hospital for emergency surgery but his condition improved in the weeks after.

"He's lost the sight of one eye … he had three serious wounds in his neck," Rushdie's agent, Andrew Wylie, told Spanish daily El Pais.

"One hand is incapacitated because the nerves in his arm were cut. And he has about 15 more wounds in his chest and torso.

The injuries "were profound … it was a brutal attack", Mr Wylie said.

He would not give any information about the writer's whereabouts, or whether he was still in hospital, but said: "He's going to live."

Salman Rushdie attacked - in pictures

The British author had lived in hiding for years after Iran's first supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ordered his killing for what he deemed the blasphemous nature of The Satanic Verses.

The main suspect, Hadi Matar, 24, from New Jersey but with roots in Lebanon, was arrested immediately after the attack on Rushdie and then pleaded not guilty during a hearing in New York state in mid-August.

The attack sparked outrage in the West but was praised by extremists in countries such as Iran and Pakistan.

Writers gather in support of author Salman Rushdie - video