rushdie conditions eye hand attack

Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie, 75, has suffered severe neck injuries, lost sight in one eye and can no longer use one hand. His agent Andrew Wylie said so in an interview with Spanish newspaper El País.

“His wounds are deep. He lost sight in one eye, where he was stabbed. He suffered three serious neck injuries and lost function in one hand as his nerves were severed by stab wounds. And he suffered 15 other injuries to his back and chest. He suffered a brutal attack,” Wylie said. Industry observers believe that Andrew Wylie is the most influential literary agent in the world. His statements on the state of health of Salman Rushdie came on the sidelines of the Frankfurt International Book Fair which ended on Sunday October 23.

Salman Rushdi. Photo Ansa/Epa Hayoung Jeon

Andrew Wylie refused, for obvious security reasons, to reveal whether the writer is still hospitalized. “I cannot give any information on his whereabouts. He will survive. This is the most important thing.” Salman Rushdie was stabbed on August 12, 2022 while on stage giving a speech on artistic freedom at the Chautauqua Institution in New York. The writer was immediately transported to hospital by helicopter and was first subjected to artificial respiration.

Rushdie assaulted by a 24-year-old

Police identified the perpetrator of the attack as a 24-year-old man named Hadi Matar. At first, nothing was known about the motive for the attack on Rushdie. According to information from the NBC television channel, the suicide bomber was born in California and, according to police sources, showed “sympathy for Shiite extremism” on social networks. Matar pleaded not guilty when he appeared in court on August 18. He said he tried to kill the writer because he would offend Islam.

Rushdie taken to hospital by helicopter after the August 12, 2022 attack. Photo Ansa / Twitter @HoratioGates3

Fatwa of Khomeini

Salman Rushdie became world famous after the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses in 1989. Iran’s then Ayatollah, founder of the Islamic Republic, Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa – effectively a death sentence – ordering the murder of Rushdie because he was guilty. of blasphemy against Muhammad and the Koran. Later, the Islamist dictatorship of Iran placed a bounty of over $3 million on his head.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran. Photo Office of the Supreme Leader Ansa/Epa

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei renewed the fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 2017, and in 2019 via Twitter. British police have placed Salman Rushdie under protective custody, who has been hiding under a false name for more than a decade. In the early 2000s, having regained freedom of movement, the Anglo-Indian writer moved to New York. And now, 33 years later, the violent assault of a young man who was not even born during the time of The Satanic Verses.