DUBAI, Feb 21 (Reuters) – An Iranian foundation has praised the man accused of seriously injuring novelist Salman Rushdie in an attack last year and promised him 1,000 square meters of farmland, state television reported on its Telegram channel on Tuesday.
Salman Rushdie, 75, lost an eye and the use of a hand after being stabbed in the neck and abdomen while speaking at a conference in New York State, in the USA.
Hadi Matar, a California-born Shia of Lebanese descent, pleaded “not guilty” to charges of attempted murder and assault.
“Rushdie is no more than a living dead and, to honor this brave act, approximately 1,000 square meters of agricultural land will be donated to this person or one of his legal representatives,” said Mohammad Esmail Zarei, Secretary of the Foundation for the Application of Ayatollah Khomeini’s Fatwas.
The 75-year-old Indian-born author was due to speak on artistic freedom at a conference hosted by the Chautauqua Institution in western New York when, according to police, Hadi Matar rushed to the scene and stabbed him.
The attack took place 33 years after Ayatollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader of the Iranian Revolution, issued a fatwa (religious decree) calling on Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie for his writings, forcing the British author to live in the hiding.
(Dubai office report, French version Augustin Turpin, edited by Kate Entringer)
©2023 Thomson Reuters, all rights reserved. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. “Reuters” and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies.