Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, in a weekly presser noted, “India has always stood against violence and extremism. We condemn this horrific act against Salman Rushdie and we wish him a speedy recovery."
Meanwhile, the man accused of stabbing renowned author Salman Rushdie on stage in New York state on August 12, Hadi Matar reportedly pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault. Matar, 24, made the plea in a courtroom in Chautauqua County, New York, according to ANI report citing CNN report. This comes after prosecutors said a grand jury had indicted him.
The suspect, who hails from New Jersey, allegedly stabbed the Indian-born British author in western New York state during a lecture, praised Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini and admitted that he didn't think that the author would survive. "When I heard he survived, I was surprised, I guess," Hadi Matar said as quoted by the New York Post. The suspect was asked whether he was inspired by the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who issued a fatwa against Rushdie over his book 'The Satanic Verses', as per report.
Additionally, Matar replied, "I respect the Ayatollah. I think he's a great person. That's as far as I will say about that," Matar said, noting he only "read like two pages" of Rushdie's controversial novel. "I read a couple of pages. I didn't read the whole thing cover to cover," he said.
It is important to note that the renowned author Salman Rushdie has long faced death threats over his 1988 book 'The Satanic Verses' and the Booker prize-winning author was attacked as he was about to give a lecture. Rushdie has suffered years of death threats over the 'The Satanic Verses' which was severely criticised by Islamic clerics, the report said.
(With inputs from ANI)
