Nobel Panel Slams Fatwa on Rushdie—27 Years Later

Panel condemns 'flagrant breaches of international law'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 24, 2016 11:17 AM CDT
Nobel Panel Slams Fatwa on Rushdie—27 Years Later
Salman Rushdie is seen in Mumbai, India, in 2013.   (Rajanish Kakade)

Better late than never? The Swedish Academy, which selects the winners of the Nobel Prize in literature, has condemned an Iranian death warrant against British writer Salman Rushdie, 27 years after it was pronounced. Two members quit the academy in 1989 after it refused to condemn Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini's fatwa against Rushdie for allegedly blaspheming Islam in his book The Satanic Verses. Citing its code against political involvement, the academy issued a statement defending free expression but without explicitly supporting Rushdie. However, in a statement posted on its website Thursday, the academy for the first time denounced the fatwa and reward money for Rushdie's death as "flagrant breaches of international law," per the AP.

It didn't specify what prompted its change of heart, but cited state-run Iranian media outlets' recent decision to raise the bounty by $600,000. "The fact that the death sentence has been passed as punishment for a work of literature also implies a serious violation of free speech," the academy says, adding that literature must be free from political control. Asked what prompted the academy to revisit the issue, acting secretary Tomas Riad referred to the normalization process between Iran and the West and the increase of the bounty. "The issue came up in the academy and we decided to [issue a statement]," Riad says. "It wasn't a controversial decision." He calls Rushdie, 68, a "symbol of the freedom of expression, albeit an involuntary one." Rushdie has thanked the academy on Twitter. (More Salman Rushdie stories.)

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