Although he supported the fatwa against him, a former vice president of Iran who now resides in Britain refuted any claims that he was responsible for the violent stabbing death of Salman Rushdie on stage in New York.
After Rushdie’s contentious 1998 book The Satanic Verses was judged blasphemous by certain Muslims, Sayyid Ata’ollah Mohajerani played a key role in imposing a death sentence against him.
Prior to giving a speech at the Chautauqua Institution, the 75-year-old author was stabbed 15 times. He had serious injuries to his eye, arm, and liver and is now recuperating in a hospital.
However, when asked whether he felt any responsibility for the assault on the writer, the former high-ranking official slammed aside the inquiries.
It was an odd period in Iran, he told The Sun outside his London house. I concentrated on how the fatwa should be interpreted.
During the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which ousted the Shah and established Ayatollah Khomeini as the country’s supreme leader, Mr. Mohajerani was a student.
When the Ayatollah ordered the killing of Left-wing detainees in Iranian prisons, he continued to serve as vice president while also becoming an MP.
After Rushdie’s contentious 1998 book The Satanic Verses was judged blasphemous by certain Muslims, Sayyid Ata’ollah Mohajerani (left) played a key role in imposing a death sentence against him. He wouldn’t consider being involved in Rushdie’s stabbing in any way.
Before giving a talk at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, Salman Rushdie (shown) was stabbed 15 times.
The paperback version of Satanic Verses rose from 24,491st the week before the assault to 120th in the bestseller list for the week of August 14 to August 20.
There is a two-week delay for customers wanting to order the book through Waterstones and Foyles.
The Satanic Verses ebook debuted on the Amazon rankings at number 12 in the week of August 14 due to a lack of physical copies. Victory City, the author’s next novel, is scheduled for publication in February 2023.
Hadi Matar, 24, the alleged assailant of the writer, has entered a not guilty plea to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges.
A grand jury on Thursday indicted Matar on one count of attempted second-degree murder and one count of second-degree assault.
On August 18, he made an appearance in court while wearing handcuffs and said that “his purpose to murder Mr. Rushdie is stronger in his mind and exceeds his own freedom.”
Hadi Matar, 24, pleaded not guilty in court to second degree attempted murder and assault charges on Thursday 18 August
Schmidt argued that Matar should be kept in custody as a trial into the attack proceeds, The Buffalo News reports.
He has been held without bail and is due back in court on September 22.
Matar was also ordered not to have any contact with Rushdie, and agreed to a request by his defence lawyer to issue a temporary gag order barring the parties from discussing the case in the media.
The attack has caused celebrities such as Ricky Gervais to beef up security around his gigs and stand up shows.
The Office and After Life creator is in the middle of performing new material at Soho’s tiny Leicester Square Theatre, where members of the audience sit yards away from comics.
The BBC reported that the man accused of Stabbing Mr Rushdie had only read two pages of his book.