Mail Online

POLICE PROBE JK ROWLING DEATH THREAT

Author warned: ‘You’re next’ after she tweeted support for stabbed Rushdie

By Ashlie McAnally

POLICE are probing a sickening death threat against JK Rowling in the wake of the horrific attack on fellow author Sir Salman Rushdie.

After the Edinburgh-based writer sent a message of support to Sir Salman – who was stabbed in the neck and abdomen on Friday – she was warned ‘you are next’ in a chilling tweet. Sir

Salman, who has faced Islamic death threats for three decades after writing The Satanic Verses, was on a ventilator last night after being knifed ‘up to 15 times’ in a frenzied assault as he was about to give a lecture in America.

Ms Rowling yesterday described the attack on the 75-year-old as ‘horrifying news’ and tweeted: ‘Feeling very sick right now. Let him be ok.’

In response, a self-described ‘political activist’ from Pakistan going by the name of Meer Asif Aziz tweeted: ‘Don’t worry you are next.’

Twitter did not remove Aziz’s threat against Ms Rowling for 13 hours, causing

the Harry Potter author to publicly ask the online platform to take action yesterday afternoon.

An hour later, Ms Rowling tweeted: ‘To all sending supportive messages: thank you. Police are involved (were already involved on other threats).’

Last night, a Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘We have received a report of an online threat being made and officers are carrying out enquiries.’ The force refused to say whether or not they would consider increasing security for Ms Rowling at her Edinburgh home.

Aziz had previously reposted a comment that labelled himself a ‘terrorist’ and wrote that ‘Greater Israel will soon become [a] graveyard’. He also hailed Sir Salman’s alleged attacker Hadi Mata as a ‘revolutionary Shia fighter’ who ‘followed the fatwa’, referring to the decree issued by Iran in 1989 demanding the author’s execution for his novel The Satanic Verses, which is branded blasphemous by some Muslims.

Posting evidence of Aziz’s violent threats, Ms Rowling had sent a public message to Twitter support saying ‘any chance of some support?’

Supporters rallied around the author including Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, who posted a comment on Twitter saying: ‘All tyrants want to silence speech they disagree with, that challenges them, or that they claim offends them. Iran has been threatening Salman Rushdie for decades. Who will be next?’

Other commentators included Irish journalist Helen Joyce who sent a tweet to the social media site’s support team: ‘WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH? Your biased, woman-hating moderation rules have encouraged this. It’s on you.’

Aziz’s tweet was eventually deleted around 4pm yesterday and his profile removed an hour later. Ms Rowling has previously received bomb threats from trans activists after she objected to the phrase ‘people who menstruate’ because it avoided the word ‘women’.

Representatives for Twitter and Ms Rowling yesterday declined to comment. The 57-year-old is among the notable writers who have voiced their disbelief after Sir Salman was repeatedly knifed on stage in New York state.

Toby Young, the founder of The Free Speech Union, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The threat on JK Rowling’s life shows how important it is for all of us to stand shoulder to shoulder with Salman Rushdie.

‘We need to make it clear to anyone who would deprive us of our right to free speech that an attack on one of us is an attack on us all.’

‘An attack on one of us is an attack on us all’

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