Sir Salman Rushdie makes first in-person public appearance since stabbing

Sir Salman Rushdie returns to public life after being repeatedly stabbed, ITV News' Robert Moore reports

Sir Salman Rushdie has made an unexpected return to public life, nine months after being stabbed repeatedly and hospitalised.

The British-Indian writer attended the annual gala to accept an award for courage, concealing the eye blinded by his attacker.

He gave then PEN America event’s final speech as he accepted a special prize, the Centenary Courage Award, on Thursday.

It was his first in-person appearance at a public event since the assault, when a man rushed the stage at a literature event to knife the author in New York last August.

“It’s nice to be back - as opposed to not being back, which was also a possibility. I’m glad the dice rolled this way,” Sir Salman, 75, told hundreds gathered at the American Museum of Natural History, where he received a standing ovation.

But his attendance had not been announced beforehand.

He spoke briefly and dedicated some of his remarks to those who came to his help at the Chautauqua Institution, a nonprofit education and retreat center.

He cited a fellow attendee, Henry Reese of the City of Asylum project in Pittsburgh, for tackling the assailant and thanked audience members who also stepped in.

“I accept this award, therefore, on behalf of all those who came to my rescue. I was the target that day, but they were the heroes. The courage, that day, was all theirs, and I thank them for saving my life.” “And I have one last thing to add. It’s this: Terror must not terrorise us. Violence must not deter us. 'La lutte continue. La lutta continua' - the struggle goes on.”

Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, has been incarcerated after pleading not guilty to attempted murder and assault in the attack on Sir Salman as he was being introduced at the Chautauqua Institution.

After the attack, Sir Salman was treated in hospital, where he was briefly put on a ventilator to recover from what was described as a “brutal attack” that cut nerves to one arm.

Attacks against the author have been feared since the late 1980s when the publication of his novel “The Satanic Verses,” was condemned as blasphemous for passages referring to the Prophet Mohammad.

The book's publication prompted Iran's then-supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to issue a fatwa, calling for the death warrant for Sir Salman and his publishers in 1989.

Since the attack, Sir Salman has since granted few interviews and otherwise communicated through his Twitter account and prepared remarks.

Earlier this week, he delivered a video message to the British Book Awards, where he was given a Freedom to Publish prize.

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