Suspect in Salman Rushdie attack pleads not guilty

The man accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

Hadi Matar is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree assault.

Authorities say Matar stabbed “The Satanic Verses” author during a lecture on Friday in upstate New York.

The judge in the case denied Matar bail and said he must surrender his firearms. The judge also granted Rushdie’s request for a temporary protection order.

The author is reportedly improving since the attack. Rushdie’s agent said the author had damage to his liver and suffered severed nerves, but he is no longer on a ventilator.

A motive for the attack has not been revealed.

.Page-below > .RichTextModule {display:none;} .Page-below .Link {font-size: 12px; padding: 5px 10px;border: 1px solid #005687;border-radius: 4px;font-family: “proxima-nova”, sans-serif; }