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JK Rowling is one of the authors who has supported Salman Rushdie.
Police are investigating a threat against JK Rowling, author of the “Harry Potter” saga, after she expressed her support for British writer Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed in the United States.
Rowling, 57, shared screenshots of a message she received on Twitter that read: “Don’t worry, you are the Next“.
The same social network account also published messages praising the man who attacked Rushdie when the writer was preparing to give a lecture in New York state last Friday.
After the attack on Rushdie, Rowling said she felt “very disgusted” at the news and that he hoped Rushdie would recover.
“To everyone who sends messages of support. Thank you. The police are involved (were already involved in other threats),” the writer posted on Twitter, sharing a screenshot of the threat.
The tweet, originating from an account in Pakistan, was deleted on Sunday morning.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “We have received a report of a online threat and officers are conducting investigations.”
Authorities have previously investigated online criticism of Rowling for her views on transgender issues.
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Salman Rushdie was attacked on Friday.
strong condemnation
Warner Bros Discovery, the entertainment company behind the Harry Potter film series, said it strongly condemns the threats against Rowling.
“We are with her and all the authors, narrators and creators who courageously express their creativity and opinions,” the company said in a statement.
“Our thoughts are with Salman Rushdie and his family following the senseless act of violence in New York.”
The fatwa, a thing of the past
Rushdie, 75, faced death threats for 33 years after the publication of his novel “the satanic verses“in 1989, after the then Ayatollah of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa (a legal pronouncement in Islam) against him, considering the work to be blasphemous.
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The late Ayatollah Khomeini issued the fatwa in February 1989.
The writer was forced into hiding for almost a decade. Just two weeks ago, Rushdie assured in an interview for the magazine Stern that he felt that the fatwa was a thing of the past.
The man charged in Friday’s attack, 24-year-old Hadi Matar, has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and was held in custody without bail.
He is accused of stabbing Rushdie at least 10 times on the face, neck and abdomen.
The author was removed from assisted breathing and regained his ability to speak.
“It will be long (his recovery), the injuries are seriousbut his condition is moving in the right direction,” said his agent, Andrew Wylie.
