Award-winning author Salman Rushdie has been injured in an apparent stabbing attempt before a speech in Chautauqua, near Buffalo, New York.
In the incident that happened yesterday, the writer was attacked before giving a speech on the US granting asylum to world’s writers.
The award-winning novelist was previously targeted by Islamists after he released the novel The Satanic Verses. Pakistan banned the book, and he was issued a fatwa – a death sentence – by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989.
Witnesses claimed he managed to walk off stage with assistance and the attacker is reportedly in custody, according to the Daily Mail.
Saturday’s Mail: “Rushdie stabbed ‘up to 15 times’” #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/7FuHsAa3Vz pic.twitter.com/wNA6O8SMdS
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) August 12, 2022
Rushdie has for decades been a target of threats for his writings, which in 1989 infamously included a fatwa – a death sentence – by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini.