After Salman Rushdie attack, author JK Rowling receives death threat
Harry Potter creator JK Rowling received a public death threat on her official Twitter handle from an Iran-backed extremist on Saturday. The threat came in after she condemned the horrific stabbing attack on fellow author British Salman Rushdie on Friday in New York State. Following the events, Rowling reached out to Twitter to intervene and also sought help from the cops. Here's what happened.
Why does this story matter?
Rushdie was attacked at an event in New York State on Friday (August 12). The popular yet controversial author was reportedly stabbed up to 15 times by an attacker minutes before he was to get on stage to deliver a lecture on free speech. To note, his book The Satanic Verses (1988) sparked a major controversy. Rowling, too, was targeted previously over her opinions.
Rowling was publicly told, 'Don't worry you are next'
On Friday night, Rowling took to her official Twitter handle to express her concern over her fellow author's condition. She wrote, "Horrifying news. Feeling very sick right now. Let him be ok (sic)." In response to this, Twitter user Meer Asif Aziz, described in their bio as a "student, social activist, political activist, and research activist," replied, "Don't worry you are next (sic)."
Twitter found 'no violations' in Rowling's reported content
Following this, Rowling wrote to Twitter officials sharing screenshots of Aziz's death threat. She tweeted: "@TwitterSupport These are your guidelines, right? 'Violence: You may not threaten violence against an individual or a group of people. We also prohibit the glorification of violence... Terrorism/violent extremism: You may not threaten or promote terrorism...'" Twitter had, however, replied that there were "no violations" in Rowling's reported content.
Rowling seeks help from Twitter over the threat
Aziz called Rushdie's attacker 'revolutionary Shia fighter'
Moreover, Rowling later assured her followers that the cops were involved in the matter to further probe the situation. Aziz, who posted the death threat, has previously described Rushdie's alleged attacker, named Hadi Matar, as a "revolutionary Shia fighter" in one of his tweets. However, Twitter is yet to take any action against Aziz or take down his account (at the time of writing).
Rushdie has been taken off ventilator now
Rushdie, who was severely injured after the attack, is no longer on the ventilator and is able to talk as of Sunday, as per his book agent Andrew Wylie. The accused attacker, however, pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder and assault charges despite a prosecutor calling it a "preplanned" crime. Rowling, too, was previously targeted by some trans-activists for her beliefs on gender.
