According to the Associated Press, an unidentified person attacked Indian-British writer Salman Rushdie before a lecture he gave at a training center in Chautauqua, west of New York.
According to the broadcast, when Rushdie took the stage, an unidentified person attacked him with a knife and began beating him. The perpetrator was arrested. CNBC television channel reported that the guests who came to the conference were evacuated immediately after the attack. Gendarmerie and doctors came to the scene.
An eyewitness who saw the incident said the attacker was wearing loose black clothing.
Bill Vasu, one of those present in the hall, told The New York Times about the moment of the attack. He said he saw a man running onto the stage and attacking the writer. People immediately rushed to help Rushdie, and the attacker was quickly thrown to the ground.
New York Governor Kathy Hokul has ordered state police to investigate the incident.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling tweeted that reports of attacks on the author were “terrible news”.
Many stab wounds
The Associated Press reporter, who was one of the first to report the attack on the writer, said Rushdie was stabbed 10-15 times.
“The journalist witnessed a man standing in front of Rushdie on stage… and (the author) hit or stabbed him 10-15 times while he was being introduced. “The 75-year-old writer fell or fell to the ground and the man was taken into custody.”
Eyewitnesses also reported that a pool of blood spilled under Rushdie. “People said: We have a pulse,” said doctor Rita Landman. A doctor who was among those who came to help, Dr. Martin Haskell described Rushdie’s injuries as “serious but treatable.”
“Rushdie suffered an obvious stab wound to his neck and was taken by helicopter to the district hospital. His condition is not yet known,” the Guardian writes, citing police.
Later, the New York Times reported that Rushdie was on the ops block, citing the author’s agent, Andrew Wylie. The agent stated that he had no knowledge of the victim’s condition.
What is known about the author
Salman Rushdie
Grant Pollard/AP
Salman Rushdie was born in Mumbai (now Mumbai), India. He became widely known in the UK in 1988 after the publication of the novel The Satanic Verses. Muslims viewed the book as offensive and blasphemous. Banned in Iran, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other countries.
A year after the novel’s publication, Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa (decree) calling on Muslims around the world to execute those involved in the book’s publication. At the same time, the Religious Foundation of Iran announced $2 million bounty for Rushdie’s murder. The Iranian government later moved away from the fatwa, but the negative attitude towards the writer in the country remained.
After Khomeini’s call in Western countries, arson and attacks started on the shops where the book was sold, Author of translation of Satanic Verses killed in Japan Hitoshi Igarashi. In 1993, a Norwegian book publisher was shot three times but survived.
For many years, Rushdie hid and appeared in public only occasionally, and was also under the constant protection of Scotland Yard agents. The call to assassinate Rushdie led to the severing of diplomatic relations between Britain and Iran. However, in 2002 the British government obtained tacit guarantees of the author’s safety from the Iranian authorities and the protection was lifted.
Rushdie in 1990 apologized to the public Expressing words of respect for Islam in the presence of Muslims, Iranian officials did not cancel the fatwa. Also by 2016 As a future reward for the murder of the author, they raised almost $4 million. At the same time, Rushdie himself believed there was no “proof” that he would be interested in the prize. In 2012, after the “Satanic Verses” controversy, he published a story about his life called “Joseph Anton: A Memoir”.
Salman Rushdie, 75, has won numerous literary awards, including the 1981 Booker Prize for Midnight’s Children. Queen of Great Britain in 2007. Elizabeth knighted him for his services to literature. It also caused a wave of discontent in the Islamic world.
The author has lived in the United States since 2000 and received American citizenship in 2016.
Source: Gazeta
