Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that the attack on novelist Salman Rushdie is a blow to freedom of expression.

He wrote on Twitter, "No one should be threatened or harmed because of what they write. I wish him a speedy recovery."

The Indian-born novelist, who had lived years in hiding after Iran called on Muslims to kill him because of his novel "The Satanic Verses," was attacked and stabbed in the neck and abdomen on stage during a lecture on Friday.

After hours of surgery, Rushdie was placed on a ventilator and is currently unable to speak.

New York police announced that they immediately arrested the suspect in the assault on Rushdie, named Hadi Matar, 24 years old, noting that the motives are not yet clear.

Commentators pointed to a Facebook page for a man named Hadi Matar filled with photos of the Iranian Supreme Leader, which was disabled soon after the attack. There was no immediate confirmation that the page belonged to the attacker.