After being stabbed, Salman Rushdie is still in the hospital, and the location is under inspection for security.
After being stabbed, Salman Rushdie is still in the hospital, and the location is under inspection for security.
According to two people who spoke to NewsBcs, the location where famed novelist Salman Rushdie was stabbed on Friday had previously rejected suggestions to tighten security. Rushdie's controversial writing has drawn death threats.
According to New York state police, Rushdie, 75, was stabbed at least twice on stage at the Chautauqua Institution before he was scheduled to deliver a speech. According to a Pennsylvania police spokesman, he was flown to a hospital in northwest Pennsylvania where he received surgery.
Rushdie was placed on a ventilator later in the day and was mute, according to Andrew Wylie, Rushdie's agent, who spoke to The New York Times. He'll probably lose an eye, according to Wylie. "His liver was punctured and hurt, and the nerves in his arm were cut. It's not good news."
Shortly after, a suspect was detained, and officials are now investigating the incident to identify its cause and potential charges, according to state police.
Following the attack, concerns were voiced over the host institution's security measures, or lack thereof. This institution is located in a remote lake resort about 70 miles south of Buffalo, New York.
According to two people who talked with NewsBcs, the institution's leadership had rejected suggestions for fundamental security measures, such as bag checks and metal detectors, out of concern that they would separate speakers from the audience. According to the sources, the institution's leadership was concerned that it might alter the institution's culture.
The two people talked to NewsBcs on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to make public statements despite having firsthand knowledge of the Chautauqua Institution's security status and prior recommendations.
Rushdie's agent, Andrew Wylie, informed The New York Times that Rushdie was placed on a ventilator later in the day and was mute. According to Wylie, he'll probably lose an eye. "His liver was stabbed, causing damage, and his arm's nerves were cut. The news is not promising."
Soon after, officials detained a suspect, and according to state police, they are investigating the incident's cause and potential charges.
The host institution, which is located in a remote lake resort about 70 miles south of Buffalo, New York, has been under scrutiny since the attack about its security measures, or lack thereof.
According to two people who talked with NewsBcs, the institution's leadership had rejected suggestions for fundamental security measures, such as bag checks and metal detectors, out of concern that they would separate speakers from the audience. According to the sources, the institution's leadership was concerned that it might alter the institution's culture.
The two people talked to NewsBcs on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to make public statements despite having firsthand knowledge of the Chautauqua Institution's security status and prior recommendations.
Henry Reese, co-founder of the Pittsburgh nonprofit City of Asylum, who was supposed to participate in a talk with Rushdie, was also hurt on Friday, according to the police. He was taken to a hospital, given facial injury treatment, and then released.Salman Rushdie is one of the greatest writers of our time and one of the greatest supporters of freedom of speech and freedom of creative expression, according to Reese, who serves on the advisory committee for press freedom organization PEN America.
Reese continued, "We revere him, and his well-being is our top priority. The possibility of an attack happening in the US shows how many governments, as well as other people and organizations, have threatened writers. In addition to sending Salman our best wishes as Americans and global citizens, we must reaffirm our commitment to upholding the principles Salman has fought for."
Several literary awards, notably the Booker Prize for his 1981 book Midnight's Children, have been given to Rushdie's works. The Satanic Verses, his fourth book, was the one that attracted the most attention because it was deemed sacrilegious by some Muslims and its 1988 publication caused protests.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late Iranian president, called Rushdie's book an affront to Islam and the Prophet Mohammed and issued a religious ruling, known as a fatwa, ordering his execution in 1989.
Authorities visited a New Jersey residence connected to the suspect
Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey has been named as the attack's suspect, according to New York State Troop Commander Major Eugene J. Staniszewski, who made the announcement during a news conference on Friday night.
Rushdie was being presented when the attack took place, a witness told CNN. The author appeared to be "punched" by a man wearing a black shirt. The observer, who was around 75 feet away from the stage, didn't see a weapon or hear the assailant speak.
A second-row spectator named Joyce Lussier observed a man "lurch over the stage and get right near Mr. Rushdie."
"He entered from the side on the left, leaped across the stage, and simply lunged at him. I believe it took him two seconds to pass that stage "said Lussier. According to her, she witnessed audience members running up to the platform and heard screaming and sobbing.
According to state police, Rushdie was stabbed at least once in the neck and once in the belly by Matar, 24. Before a state trooper could take the attacker into jail, staff and spectators tackled the offender and slammed him to the ground, according to the police.
Police had closed off the roadway leading to the New Jersey house they thought belonged to the suspect on Friday night.
Iran never had his bounty lifted.
Rushdie was educated in England, first at Rugby School and then at the University of Cambridge, where he earned a master's in history. Rushdie is the son of a prosperous Muslim businessman in India.
After graduating from college, he started out in London as an advertising copywriter before releasing "Grimus," his debut book, in 1975.
Rushdie started a decade of protection from the British government in 1989 as a result of the fatwa.
According to Rushdie, the experience taught him to "value even more... profoundly the things that I respected before, such as the art of literature and the freedom of expression and the right to speak things that other people don't like," according to a 1999 CNN interview.
"Although the decade may have been difficult, the battle was the right one, you know. It involved standing up for the values I hold most dear while opposing the bigotry, extremism, and censorship I detest the most."
Even though the Iranian government pledged not to attempt to carry out the fatwa in 1998, the bounty on Rushdie has never been removed.
Despite this, the Islamic decree was just confirmed by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
When asked in February 2017 on Khamenei's official website if the "fatwa against Rushdie was still in place," the supreme leader said, "The decree is as Imam Khomeini issued," to the effect that it was still in force.
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