Rushdie could lose an eye, says his literary agent as the US identifies the attacker as Hadi Matar, a fundamentalist with pro-Iranian views.

WASHINGTON: Author Salman Rushdie is on a fan and could likely lose an eye following an onstage attack on him, his literary agent said, even though New York law enforcement has identified his attacker. like 24-year-old Hadi Matar from New Jersey, he believed, based on his social media posts, that he was a supporter of the fundamentalist forces in Iran who started a fatwa on the writer in 1988.
Salman Rushdie stabbed LIVE updates
“The news is not good. Salman he will probably lose an eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged, “The New York Times quoted his agent Andrew Wylie in an email. Rushdie was flown to UPMC Hamot Surgery Center in Erie, Pennsylvania for treatment. following the brazen attack that left him with stab wounds in his neck and abdomen.

Authorities said Matar drove from his home in Fairview, New Jersey to Chautauqua, New York, where Rushdie, 75, was a guest speaker at a local literary festival. He had been interviewed by Henry Reese, 73, when Matar rushed to the stage to attack him.

Matar was blocked by audience members who took the stage to protect the speakers, and a doctor among them helped administer CPR to Rushdie before he was flown to the hospital. Reese was also injured in the attack, but was discharged from a local hospital following treatment for his injuries.

Co-founder of an organization that offers residences to writers facing persecution, he and Rushdie were supposed to talk about the United States as a refuge for writers in exile.
In a statement released later, Reese called Rushdie “one of the great defenders of free speech and freedom of creative expression,” adding, “The fact that this attack could occur in the United States is indicative of the threats to writers in many governments. and by many individuals and organizations “.

The attack, given Matar’s alleged Iranian sympathies, immediately took on geopolitical colors, occurring just days after the Biden administration’s Justice Department accused a member of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of attempting to orchestrate the assassination. by former National Security Advisor John Bolton.
The Iranian fundamentalist clerical leadership led by Ayatollah Khomeini had issued a death sentence fatwa on Rushdie after the publication of his book Satanic verses in 1988. The fatwa had never been formally lifted, but after years of secrecy and protection, Rushdie, who currently lives in New York City, recently resumed normal commitments.

French President Emmanuel Macron was among the world leaders who spoke for Rushdie, saying “for 33 years Salman Rushdie embodied freedom and the fight against obscurantism. He has just been the victim of a cowardly attack by the forces of the hatred and barbarism. His struggle is our battle, it is universal. Now more than ever, we are at his side. ”