Scotland: Scottish police said they were investigating an apparent “online threat” made to Harry Potter author JK Rowling in response to her tweet supporting Salman Rushdie following his stabbing.

“We have received a report of an online threat being made and officers are carrying out enquiries,” said a Police Scotland spokeswoman.

57-year-old writer tweeted on Friday that she was “feeling very sick right now” as news broke of attack on Rushdie in New York State. In response, a user tweeted “Don’t worry you are next”.

Rowling shared a screenshot of reply, asking Twitter moderators “any chance of some support?”

“These are your guidelines, right? ‘Violence: You may not threaten violence against an individual or a group of people’,” she added. Tweet appeared to have been taken down on Sunday. Author also tweeted that police had been informed. Same Twitter account, believed to be based in Pakistan also posted messages praising Rushdie’s attacker. Hadi Matar (24) was arraigned in court in New York State, with prosecutors outlining how Rushdie had been stabbed approximately 10 times in what they described as a planned, premeditated assault. Rushdie’s agent Andrew Wylie had said writer was on a ventilator and in danger of losing an eye, but in an update on Saturday he told New York Times that Rushdie had started to talk again, suggesting his condition had improved.

Published in The Daily National Courier, August, 14 2022

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