A grand jury has indicted British author Salman Rushdie on charges of attempted murder after he was attacked with a knife at a lecture hall in New York.
American media reports that the man said, "I respect Khomeini, who was the supreme leader of Iran. He is a wonderful person."
Indian-born British writer Salman Rushdie was accused of blaspheming Islam in 1988 when he published his novel The Satanic Verses, and Ayatollah Khomeini, the then supreme leader of Iran, was sentenced to death. issued a religious decree declaring
On the 12th of this month, Mr. Rushdie was stabbed in the neck and abdomen by a man at a lecture venue in western New York and is being treated.
A grand jury indicted a 24-year-old man on charges of attempted murder and assault, and the man pleaded not guilty.
Under these circumstances, the tabloid newspaper "New York Post" reported on the 17th that a man said in an interview that he said, "I respect Ayatollah Khomeini, who was the supreme leader of Iran at the time. I think he is a wonderful person." .
On the other hand, Mr. Rushdie said, ``I blasphemed Islam.
Ties to Iran 'strongly denied'
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Kyanani said at a press conference on the 15th that he "strongly denies" a reporter's question about the Iranian involvement of the man who stabbed Rushdie.
On the other hand, he criticized Mr. Rushdie, saying that "freedom of expression cannot justify insulting Islam," and reiterated Iran's position that it does not recognize the contents of his past novels.