Iranian mullah revives death fatwa against Salman Rushdie over Satanic Verses 25 years after it was issued

• Senior cleric Ahmad Khatami told Tehran Friday prayer fatwa 'fresh as ever'
• Marked 25th anniversary of ruling offering $3.3m to Rushdie's killer
• Author now often seen in public after coming out of police-guarded hiding

By Mia De Graaf
PUBLISHED: The Daily Mail, 16 February 2014 

The Iranian clergy has revived Salman Rushdie's death fatwa 25 years after it was issued over his 'blasphemous' Satanic Verses.
On February 14, 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called on all Muslims to murder the award-winning author and anyone involved in the publication of his work.
This Friday, senior cleric Ahmad Khatami reminded worshippers at the Tehran Friday prayer that the 'historical fatwa' is 'as fresh as ever'.

Threat: Cleric Ahmad Khatami (left) reminded Muslims the $3.3m bounty on Salman Rushdie's head still stands

He added that even if Rushdie repents, it will not affect the sentence.

The religious ruling forced the award-winning writer into hiding, and Britain's ties with the Islamic republic were severely damaged just a few years after collaborating on a UN resolution between Iraq and Iran.
Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese translator, was stabbed to death in the face at work, a Norwegian publisher shot and an Italian publisher knifed.

Thousands took to the streets to burn copies of the book and thirty-seven people were massacred in Sivas, Turkey, in a 1993 attack intended to target Aziz Nesin, the book's Turkish translator.

More than two decades later, Rushdie has emerged from hiding and is regularly seen at public events.

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