As a second-generation Lebanese immigrant, he seems to have sympathized with Shia extremism… Controversy over ‘negligence’
Hardy Matar, 24, who stabbed Salman Rushdi, 75, a British author famous for the novel ‘Devil’s Poem’, was charged with attempted second-degree murder and assault on the 13th (local time).
“We formally charged the person responsible for yesterday’s attack for attempted second-degree murder and second-degree assault,” said Jason Schmidt, district attorney general for Shutterquaw County, New York, in a statement. “I stepped on it and was detained without bail,” he said.
Mattar was arrested at the scene the previous morning following rushing into a stage for a lecture in Shutterquay, New York, and seriously wounding Rushdie with a knife stabbing him in the neck and abdomen at least once.
Rushdie was taken to a nearby hospital in Pennsylvania shortly following the attack and underwent several hours of surgery, but it is said that he is still dependent on a ventilator and cannot speak.
Rushdi, who is hospitalized for the second day, is expected to lose one eye, a nerve in his arm and liver damage, the spokesperson said.
The specific motive for the crime has not yet been revealed.
Rushdi, who caused a controversy for blasphemy with Islam with ‘Devil’s Poem’ published in 1988, has suffered death threats for over 30 years.
A year following its publication, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the then supreme leader of Iran, ordered the Muslims to actually execute Rushdi.
It is said that the link between the attack and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has not yet been confirmed.
However, a source familiar with the investigation told NBC New York that investigative authorities analyzed the attacker’s social media accounts and found that he had a heartfelt sympathy with Shia extremism and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Born to a Lebanese family of immigrants, Matar was born in California, but recently moved to New Jersey to live in Fairview, Bergen County.
Ali Tehfe, the mayor of the Yarun city of southern Lebanon, where Matar’s parents lived, confirmed to Archyde.com that his parents were from Yarun, but did not know if they supported the Iranian-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
On the other hand, criticism is strong that the public event was neglected, given that Rushdie’s neck was a ‘bounty’ of more than 3 million dollars.
CNN reported, citing multiple sources, that the lecture organizers rejected even basic safety recommendations.
In fact, there was no bag inspection or metal detector inspection of lecture attendees.
Only one state police officer and one police officer from the county sheriff’s office were deployed in the lecture hall, but it is pointed out that this was also insufficient.
/yunhap news
